• IMU University Pharmaceutical Chemistry student Chung Xu Hoe won a Silver Medal at the International Allied Health Conference on Innovation & Excellence (i-ACHIEVE 2026).
• His innovation, CHEL 2.0 ACETA, is a portable hydrogel-based sensing platform designed to detect chemical contaminants and pharmaceutical-related compounds in water.
• The project combines smart hydrogel materials with digital sensors for real-time environmental monitoring.
• The research abstract has been accepted for publication in Medicine & Health, a Web of Science (ESCI) indexed journal.
• Xu Hoe aims to further develop the platform using artificial intelligence, cloud monitoring and smartphone integration.

Chung Xu Hoe, a Semester 2 student from IMU University’s Pharmaceutical Chemistry Programme was awarded a  Silver Medal at the International Allied Health Conference on Innovation & Excellence 2026 (i-ACHIEVE 2026) for his innovation project, CHEL 2.0 ACETA: Portable Hydrogel-Based Sensing for Detection of Chemical Contaminants and Pharmaceutical-Related Responses in Water.

Organised by the Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in strategic collaboration with the Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation (MRANTI), i-ACHIEVE 2026 was held in conjunction with the 15th International Symposium of Health Sciences (I-SIHAT 2026).

The conference brought together researchers, healthcare professionals, academics, students, government agencies, industry representatives, and innovators to share research findings and showcase innovative solutions addressing healthcare, environmental, and community challenges.

The innovation competition featured 36 innovations from higher education institutions, hospitals, government agencies, and industry, covering diverse fields including rehabilitation technology, medical devices, digital health, health education, and community innovation.

Following evaluation by a panel comprising academic experts, industry representatives, and MRANTI representatives, medals were awarded based on creativity, usability, societal impact, sustainability, and commercialisation potential. In addition, a Special MRANTI Innovation Award was presented to an innovation demonstrating outstanding commercialisation potential, scalability, and national impact.

In addition to the competition achievement, the accepted abstract of CHEL 2.0 ACETA has been selected for publication in a special issue of Medicine & Health (E-ISSN 2289-5728), a Web of Science (ESCI) Q4 Journal, providing an opportunity to share the research with the wider scientific community.

CHEL 2.0 ACETA represents the next stage in Xu Hoe’s ongoing innovation journey, building upon the original CHEL prototype that previously received a Silver Award at INNOVEX 2026.

While the original CHEL focused on colour-based detection of chelating agents in water, CHEL 2.0 introduces several significant improvements that expand both the functionality and versatility of the sensing platform.

The upgraded prototype integrates a portable sensing device with real-time digital monitoring through a colour sensor, pH sensor, microcontroller, and spreadsheet-based dashboard, allowing chemical responses to be observed and recorded continuously.

Beyond detecting chelation reactions, CHEL 2.0 also explores how specially prepared hydrogel materials respond to pharmaceutical-related compounds, such as Acetaminophen. These preliminary findings demonstrate the potential of the hydrogel platform to be modified for different sensing applications, moving beyond a single-purpose sensor towards a more adaptable multi-response sensing system.

As a proof-of-concept study, CHEL 2.0 was evaluated using prepared aqueous analyte solutions to demonstrate the feasibility of the sensing platform.

Future work will focus on expanding the hydrogel system to detect additional chemical contaminants and pharmaceutical residues while validating its performance using environmental water samples.

By combining smart hydrogel materials with affordable digital technologies, CHEL 2.0 demonstrates how accessible, low-cost sensing platforms can contribute to future environmental monitoring, research, and STEM education.

As a Pharmaceutical Chemistry student, Xu Hoe hopes to continue exploring the integration of chemistry, material science, and digital technologies to develop practical solutions that contribute to both environmental sustainability and public health.

His future research aims to further develop CHEL into a versatile sensing platform capable of detecting a wider range of chemical contaminants and pharmaceutical residues while incorporating smart technologies such as smartphone connectivity, cloud-based monitoring, and artificial intelligence-assisted data analysis.

Reflecting on the achievement, Xu Hoe shared:

“CHEL 2.0 has grown together with me throughout my journey at IMU. Every improvement made to the project reflects not only scientific progress but also my own growth as a student and aspiring researcher. Receiving this recognition encourages me to continue learning, innovating, and developing practical scientific solutions that can one day improve people’s lives, but also help protect the Earth we all share.”

Xu Hoe would like to express his heartfelt gratitude to his beloved family, teachers and friends for their unwavering love, guidance, and encouragement throughout this journey. Every word of support and every lesson shared became part of the person he is today, and this achievement stands as a reflection of everyone who believed in him along the way.