Vol. 1: Special Issue (2025)
TeknoLunas—Transforming Lives through Healthcare Innovation and Biomedical Engineering
This special issue of the Recoletos Multidisciplinary Research Journal presents selected peer-reviewed papers from TeknoLunas 2024, the national conference organized by the De La Salle University Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Health Technologies (DLSU-IBEHT) in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) and hosted by the University of San Jose-Recoletos. Convened at the USJ-R Main Campus in Cebu City, Philippines, from September 04 to 06, 2024, with the theme Advancing Philippine Healthcare through Innovations and Collaborations, Transforming Health Research into Biomedical Devices, Bridging the Gap for Equitable and Accessible Healthcare Delivery in the Philippines.
Reflecting the conference’s core thrusts on innovation, collaboration, and commercialization, the articles in this issue span device engineering, rehabilitation technologies, digital health, nursing science, behavioral health, and biomedical materials research. Engineering-focused contributions include “Design and Development of an Ankle Rehabilitation Device,” “Comparative Finite Element Analysis of Exoskeleton Materials for Durability in Rehabilitation,” and “The Radiation Attenuation Property of High-Density Polyethylene Doped with Zinc Oxide as an Alternative Gonadal Shield,” which demonstrate locally grounded solutions for assistive technologies and clinical protection. Complementing these are broader assessments of national and regional innovation landscapes in “Robotic Rehabilitation Devices in the Philippines: A Review of Recent Advancements” and “Challenges and Opportunities in Developing Stroke Rehabilitation Technologies in the Visayas Region: A Local Regional Perspective.”
Community- and patient-centered innovations are featured in “Evaluating a Community-Based Rehabilitation Program Using Provus Discrepancy Evaluation Model” and “Pitik: A Cebuano-Binisaya Intent-Based Chatbot for Cardiovascular Disease Patient Profiling and Risk Factor Recommendations,” underscoring TeknoLunas’ emphasis on accessible technologies and culturally responsive digital health tools. Nursing and behavioral health research further enrich the issue through qualitative and mixed-methods inquiries such as “The Sense Theory of Situatedness of Male Nurses in Nursing: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study” and “From Smoke to Mist: The Lived Experiences of Nursing Students Who Transitioned the Use of Traditional Cigarettes to E-Cigarettes.” Finally, laboratory-based biomedical investigations are represented by “The Antiangiogenic Activity of the Pereskia grandifolia (Seven Star Needle) Crude Leaf Extract Using the Chick Embryo Chorioallantoic Membrane (CAM) Assay,” highlighting the translational potential of plant-based therapeutic research.
Collectively, these contributions illustrate how TeknoLunas functions as a catalyst for interdisciplinary scholarship that bridges engineering design, clinical practice, public health, and social inquiry. They reinforce national priorities for sustainable healthcare development, regional innovation capacity, and technology transfer, while aligning with the mission of DOST-PCHRD and DLSU-IBEHT to ensure that biomedical innovations reach Filipino communities most in need.
Through this special issue, the Recoletos Multidisciplinary Research Journal reaffirms its commitment to disseminating impactful multidisciplinary research that advances healthcare innovation, supports health-related Sustainable Development Goals, and strengthens the Philippines’ role in the global biomedical research landscape.
