UP graduates develop exoskeleton to help stroke patients’ rehabilitation

University of the Philippines Mechanical Engineering students Jabez Bote and Ada Koreen Bacay discuss their innovation during an interview at UP Diliman, Quezon City on October 2, 2026. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

For a stroke patient living in rural communities, recovering movement can come with a heavy financial burden.

A trip to a rehabilitation center could mean spending hundreds of pesos on transportation alone, taking time away from work, and relying on companions or family members for assistance.

As a result, those who cannot afford regular rehabilitation often resort to exercising at home instead of seeking professional help.

This is the reality that inspired Ada Koleen Bacay, a 23-year-old Mechanical Engineering graduate of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, to develop a more accessible way for stroke patients to undergo rehabilitation.

Bacay, who is from Sibalom, Antique, witnessed how her grandfather, a stroke patient, struggled to receive the consistent healthcare he needed.

“In our area, the main mode of transportation is the tricycle, which takes around 45 minutes to reach the rehabilitation center and costs P300 to rent. Rehabilitation typically requires two to three sessions a week for several weeks, so transport alone can reach P2,400 to P3,600, before the cost of therapy itself,” Bacay shared.

She added that even though the rehabilitation center is only 45 minutes away, the combined costs make repeated sessions unaffordable for many, leaving some stroke survivors without access to rehabilitation.

To help address this problem, Bacay and her classmate Jabez Bote developed “OrthoFlex,” a portable and more affordable exoskeleton designed to assist patients in arm rehabilitation.

Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN NewsAccording to the team, stroke rehabilitation requires consistent, repetitive movements. However, rehabilitation centers are often concentrated in urban areas, making therapy more difficult to access, particularly for patients with limited financial resources.

The Philippine Academy of Vascular and Interventional Neurology stated that stroke affects hundreds of thousands of Filipinos each year, leaving many with long-term disabilities. However, high costs and limited access to rehabilitation prevent many survivors from receiving proper care. 

For Bacay and Bote, robotic therapy devices offer a potential solution by supporting repetitive recovery exercises and providing an alternative means of accessing rehabilitation.

Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

The battery-powered OrthoFlex is designed to prevent elbow overextension, which the team identified as a major risk during stroke rehabilitation. To address this, they developed a gate system that limits the elbow’s movement to a safe range.

The team also added foam to the arm cuffs for comfort and designed the motor housing to make maintenance easier. For future development, they plan to add an iOS companion app, as the device currently supports Android devices only.

The prototype costs around P3,500 to build, while the team estimates that the device could eventually retail for up to P10,000 after factoring in manufacturing, certification, and other expenses.

However, OrthoFlex has yet to undergo clinical trials involving actual stroke patients. The team plans to work with healthcare institutions and agencies to test and improve the device and secure the necessary certifications before making it available for public use.

Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

OrthoFlex was named a national runner-up in the Dyson Philippines Award 2026. It was also nominated in the Design Category of the Undergraduate Project Competition and selected as one of the Top 10 Capstone Projects in UP Diliman’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.

For Bacay and Bote, the national runner-up recognition helped introduce OrthoFlex to audiences they could not have reached on their own. Media coverage and publications also allowed them to share their story with stroke survivors, caregivers, and therapists.

“This visibility matters to us. Access to stroke rehabilitation is a problem experienced by Filipinos, and media attention allows us to start that conversation, find collaborators, and show that a device built by students can address a real healthcare gap,”

“We hope that one day this device reaches the homes of those stroke patients that need recovery,” the OrthoFlex developers said. 

Alongside BidaKidney and Sentinel, OrthoFlex will advance to the next stage of the James Dyson Award, where a global team of Dyson engineers will select the international Top 20 shortlist. The shortlist is set to be announced on October 14.