Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) master's student Ko Ju-young (Division of Biomedical Engineering; supervisor Professor Kim Jeong-ja), who is taking on the challenge of developing an assistive device for dental care for patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder, has been selected for the National Research Foundation of Korea’s Support Program for the Next Generation of Scholars, laying the foundation for full-scale research.

Ko was recently selected for a new project under the National Research Foundation of Korea’s '2026 Master's Student Research Encouragement Grant Program.' Accordingly, she will receive research funding of 12 million won over the next 12 months to conduct the related research.

The program is designed to strengthen the research capabilities of the next generation of scholars in science and engineering and to support graduate students' independent research activities. It selects and funds Research Projects that demonstrate creativity and a spirit of challenge.

Ko's Research Project is titled 'Development of a Chair-Integrated Head Stabilization and Mouth-Opening Assistance Device to Improve Dental Care for Patients With Autism Spectrum Disorder.' The project aims to develop an assistive device that mitigates patients' sudden head movements that may occur during dental procedures and maintains a stable mouth-opening state. By doing so, it seeks to reduce the treatment burden on patients and support dental clinicians in providing care.

Ko said, 'I am deeply honored that the research I began to address the difficulties patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder experience during dental care from the perspective of an assistive device has been selected for support.' She added, 'I am grateful to Professor Kim Jeong-ja and Dr. Jeong Ji-yong for their generous guidance in helping to concretize the direction of the research.'

Professor Kim Jeong-ja, the supervising professor, said, 'This research aims to implement head stabilization and mouth-opening assistance functions in a single device by taking into account the sensory characteristics of patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder and the dental treatment environment.' She added, 'We expect it to develop into a practical assistive device that can reduce the burden on both patients and clinicians and to serve as an opportunity to expand medical device research in the field of dental care for people with disabilities.'