Bart Weetjens: How I taught rats to sniff out land mines

Prevoditelj: Ivan Stamenković Recezent: Mislav Ante Omazić - EFZG

I'm here today to share with you

Danas sam ovdje s vama kako bih podijelio

an extraordinary journey -

jedno izvandredno putovanje --

extraordinarily rewarding journey, actually -

putovanje za izvanrednom nagradom zapravo --

which brought me into

koje me dovelo do

training rats

treniranja štakora

to save human lives

koji spašavaju ljudske živote

by detecting landmines

otkrivajući mine

and tuberculosis.

i tuberkulozu.

As a child, I had two passions.

Kao dijete, imao sam dvije strasti.

One was a passion for rodents.

Jedna je bila strast za glodavcima.

I had all kinds of rats,

Imao sam sve vrste štakora,

mice, hamsters,

miševe, hrčke,

gerbils, squirrels.

zamorce, vjeverice.

You name it, I bred it, and I sold them to pet shops.

Što god možete zamisliti, ja sam uzgajao i prodavao trgovinama kućnih ljubimaca.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I also had a passion for Africa.

Također sam bio strastven za Afrikom.

Growing up in a multicultural environment,

Odrastajući u multikulturalnom okruženju,

we had African students in the house,

imali smo afričke studente u kući,

and I learned about their stories,

i učio sam o njihovim pričama,

so different backgrounds,

različitim pozadinama,

dependency on imported know-how,

ovisnosti o uvezenim tehnologijama i spoznajama,

goods, services,

dobrima, uslugama,

exuberant cultural diversity.

bujnim kulturalnim razlikama.

Africa was truly fascinating for me.

Afrika je bila zaista fascinantna za mene.

I became an industrial engineer,

Postao sam industrijski inženjer,

engineer in product development,

inženjer u razvoju proizvoda,

and I focused on appropriate detection technologies,

i usredotočio sam se na prikladne tehnologije uočavanja,

actually the first appropriate technologies

zapravo prve prikladne tehnologije

for developing countries.

za zemlje u razvoju.

I started working in the industry,

Počeo sam raditi u industriji,

but I wasn't really happy to contribute

ali nisam bio zadovoljan doprinoseći

to a material consumer society

materijalističkom konzumerističkom društvu

in a linear, extracting

u linearnom, iskorištavajućem

and manufacturing mode.

i proizvodnom modu.

I quit my job to focus on the real world problem:

Dao sam otkaz na poslu kako bih se usredotočio na stvaran svjetski problem:

landmines.

mine.

We're talking '95 now.

Govorimo o 1995-toj sada.

Princess Diana is announcing on TV

Princeza Diana najavila je na TV-u

that landmines form a structural barrier

kako mine stvaraju strukturnu barijeru

to any development, which is really true.

za bilo kakav razvoj, što je zaista točno.

As long as these devices are there,

Dokle god su te naprave tamo,

or there is suspicion of landmines,

ili postoji sumnja na nagazne mine,

you can't really enter into the land.

ne možete ući u zemlju.

Actually, there was an appeal worldwide

Zapravo, u čitavom svijetu postojao je apel

for new detectors

za nove detektore u

sustainable in the environments

održivim okolišima

where they're needed to produce,

gdje su morali proizvoditi,

which is mainly in the developing world.

a to je uglavnom svijet u razvoju.

We chose rats.

Odabrali smo štakore.

Why would you choose rats?

Zašto bismo odabrali štakore?

Because, aren't they vermin?

Nisu li oni štetočine?

Well, actually rats are,

Zapravo, štakori jesu,

in contrary to what most people think about them,

u suprotnosti s onim što većina ljudi misli o njima,

rats are highly sociable creatures.

štakori su izrazito društvena bića.

And actually, our product -- what you see here.

I zapravo, naš proizvod -- ono što ovdje vidite.

There's a target somewhere here.

Ovdje negdje je meta.

You see an operator, a trained African

Vidite operatera, obučenog Afrikanca

with his rats in front

sa svojim štakorima ispred njega

who actually are left and right.

koji su zapravo lijevo i desno.

There, the animal finds a mine.

Ondje, životinja nalazi minu.

It scratches on the soil.

Grebe po tlu.

And the animal comes back for a food reward.

I životinja se vraća po nagradu u obliku hrane.

Very, very simple.

Vrlo, vrlo jednostavno.

Very sustainable in this environment.

Vrlo održivo u ovom okolišu.

Here, the animal gets its food reward.

Ovdje, životinja dobija hranu kao nagradu.

And that's how it works.

I tako to funkcionira.

Very, very simple.

Vrlo, vrlo jednostavno.

Now why would you use rats?

Dakle, zašto bi koristili štakore?

Rats have been used since the '50s last century,

Štakori se koriste od 50ih godina prošlog stoljeća,

in all kinds of experiments.

u svim vrstama pokusa.

Rats have more genetic material

Štakori imaju više genetskog materijala

allocated to olfaction

alociranog za osjet mirisa

than any other mammal species.

od bilo koje druge vrste sisavaca

They're extremely sensitive to smell.

Ekstremno su osjetljivi na mirise.

Moreover, they have the mechanisms to map all these smells

Štoviše, imaju mehanizme kako bi rasporedili sve te mirise

and to communicate about it.

i komunicirali o njima.

Now how do we communicate with rats?

Ali kako komuniciramo sa štakorima?

Well don't talk rat,

Pa ne pričamo štakorski,

but we have a clicker,

ali imamo kliker,

a standard method for animal training,

standardnu metodu za treniranje životinja,

which you see there.

koju vidite ovdje.

A clicker, which makes a particular sound

Kliker, koji proizvodi određeni zvuk

with which you can reinforce particular behaviors.

s kojim možete potaknuti određena ponašanja.

First of all, we associate the click sound with a food reward,

Kao prvo, asocirajte zvuk klika sa zvukom nagrade hranom,

which is smashed banana and peanuts together in a syringe.

koja je zdrobljena banana i kiki-riki u šprici.

Once the animal knows click, food,

Kada životinja zna klik, hrana,

click, food, click, food --

klik, hrana, klik, hrana --

so click is food --

dakle klik je hrana ---

we bring it in a cage with a hole,

dovodimo ju u kavez s rupom,

and actually the animal learns

i zapravo, životinja uči

to stick the nose in the hole

gurnuti nos kroz rupu

under which a target scent is placed,

ispod koje je ciljani miris postavljen,

and to do that for five seconds --

i da to čini pet sekundi --

five seconds, which is long for a rat.

pet sekundi, što je za štakora dugo.

Once the animal knows this, we make the task a bit more difficult.

Jednom kada životinja ovo zna, otežamo joj zadatak.

It learns how to find the target smell

Uči kako naći ciljani miris

in a cage with several holes, up to 10 holes.

u kavezu s nekoliko rupa, do 10 rupa.

Then the animal learns

Zatim životinja uči

to walk on a leash in the open

šetati na uzici na otvorenom

and find targets.

i nalaziti mete.

In the next step, animals learn

U sljedećim koracima, životinja uči

to find real mines in real minefields.

naći prave mine u minskim poljima.

They are tested and accredited

Oni su testirani i akreditirani

according to International Mine Action Standards,

prema međunarodnim standardima za djelovanje protiv mina,

just like dogs have to pass a test.

baš kao što i psi moraju proći test.

This consists of 400 square meters.

Ovo se sastoji od 400 metara kvadratnih.

There's a number of mines

Postoji određeni broj mina

placed blindly,

koje su postavljene nasumice,

and the team of trainer and their rat

i tim trenera i njihovih štakora

have to find all the targets.

moraju pronaći sve mete.

If the animal does that, it gets a license

Ako životinja uspije, dobiva licencu

as an accredited animal

kao akreditirana životinja

to be operational in the field --

za djelovanje u polju --

just like dogs, by the way.

baš poput pasa, usput.

Maybe one slight difference:

Možda jedna mala razlika:

we can train rats at a fifth of the price

štakore možemo trenirati za petinu cijene

of training the mining dog.

po kojoj treniramo psa.

This is our team in Mozambique:

Ovo je naš tim u Mozambiku:

one Tanzanian trainer,

jedan Tanzanijski trener,

who transfers the skills

koji prenosi vještine

to these three Mozambican fellows.

onoj trojici momaka iz Mozambika.

And you should see the pride in the eyes of these people.

I trebate vidjeti ponos u očima ovih ljudi.

They have a skill,

Imaju vještinu,

which makes them much less dependent

koja ih čini puno manje ovisnima

on foreign aid.

o stranoj pomoći.

Moreover, this small team

Štoviše, ovaj mali tim

together with, of course, you need the heavy vehicles

zajedno sa, naravno, trebate teška vozila

and the manual de-miners to follow-up.

i ručne razminiravače koji će uslijediti.

But with this small investment in a rat capacity,

Ali s ovom malom investicijom u kapacitet štakora,

we have demonstrated in Mozambique

demonstrirali smo u Mozambiku

that we can reduce the cost-price per square meter

da možemo smanjiti cijenu koštanja po kvadratnom metru

up to 60 percent

do 60 posto

of what is currently normal --

od onoga što je trenutno standardno --

two dollars per square meter, we do it at $1.18,

dva dolara po kvadratnom metru, mi to radimo za 1,18 dolara,

and we can still bring that price down.

i još možemo spustiti tu cijenu.

Question of scale.

Pitanje obujma,

If you can bring in more rats,

ako možemo dovesti više štakora,

we can actually make the output even bigger.

možemo povećati i sam rezultat.

We have a demonstration site in Mozambique.

Imamo poligon za demonstraciju u Mozambiku.

Eleven African governments

11 afričkih vlada

have seen that they can become less dependent

je vidjelo da mogu postati manje ovisni

by using this technology.

koristeći ovu tehnologiju.

They have signed the pact for peace

Potpisali su pakt za mir

and treaty in the Great Lakes region,

i primirje u regiji Velikih jezera,

and they endorse hero rats

i oni podupiru herojske štakore

to clear their common borders of landmines.

kako bi očistili svoje zajedničke granice od mina.

But let me bring you to a very different problem.

Ali dopustite mi da vas uvedem u potpuno drugačiji problem.

And there's about 6,000 people last year

Postoji 6.000 ljudi koji su prošle godine

that walked on a landmine,

stali na minu,

but worldwide last year,

a širom svijeta,

almost 1.9 million died from tuberculosis

gotovo 1,9 milijuna ljudi umrlo je od tuberkuloze

as a first cause of infection.

kao prvog uzroka infekcije.

Especially in Africa

Posebno u Africi

where T.B. and HIV are strongly linked,

gdje su tuberkuloza i HIV strašno povezani,

there is a huge common problem.

postoji ogroman zajednički problem.

Microscopy, the standard WHO procedure,

Mikroskopija, standardni proces Svjetske zdravstvene organizacije,

reaches from 40 to 60 percent reliability.

dostiže 40 do 60 posto pouzdanosti.

In Tanzania -- the numbers don't lie --

U Tanzaniji -- brojke ne lažu --

45 percent of people -- T.B. patients --

45 posto ljudi -- pacijenata s tuberkulozom --

get diagnosed with T.B. before they die.

se ispravno dijagnosticira prije smrti.

It means that, if you have T.B.,

To znači, da ako imate tuberkulozu,

you have more chance that you won't be detected,

imate veće šanse da se to neće otkriti,

but will just die from T.B. secondary infections and so on.

već ćete samo umrijeti od sekundarnih infekcija i slično tome.

And if, however,

A ako, vam se ipak,

you are detected very early, diagnosed early,

dijagnosticira vrlo rano, uoči rano,

treatment can start,

liječenje može početi,

and even in HIV-positives, it makes sense.

i čak kod HIV pozitivnih, ima smisla.

You can actually cure T.B.,

Možete zapravo izliječiti tuberkulozu,

even in HIV-positives.

čak i kod HIV pozitivnih.

So in our common language, Dutch,

Tako na našem zajedničkom jeziku, nizozemskom,

the name for T.B.

ime za tuberkulozu

is "tering,"

je "tering,"

which, etymologically,

što, etimološki,

refers to the smell of tar.

ukazuje na miris katrana.

Already the old Chinese

Već stari Kinezi

and the Greek, Hippocrates,

i Grci, Hipokrat,

have actually published,

su objavili,

documented, that T.B. can be diagnosed

dokumentirali, da se tuberkulozu može dijagnosticirati

based on the volatiles

po hlapljevinama

exuding from patients.

koje isparavaju iz pacijenta.

So what we did is we collected some samples --

Ono što smo učinili je da smo skupili uzorke --

just as a way of testing --

kao način testiranja --

from hospitals,

iz bolnica,

trained rats on them

trenirali štakore koristeći ih

and see if this works,

i provjerili funkcionira li to,

and wonder, well,

i začudo,

we can reach 89 percent sensitivity,

možemo postići 89 postotnu osjetljivost,

86 percent specificity

86 postotnu specifičnost

using multiple rats in a row.

koristeći više štakora u nizu.

This is how it works,

Evo kako to radi,

and really, this is a generic technology.

i zaista, ovo je osnovna tehnologija.

We're talking now explosives, tuberculosis,

Sada govorimo o eksplozivima, tuberkulozi,

but can you imagine,

ali možete zamisliti,

you can actually put anything under there.

možete bilo što staviti ispod toga.

So how does it work?

Pa kako to radi?

You have a cassette with 10 samples.

Imate spremnik s 10 uzoraka.

You put these 10 samples at once in the cage.

Stavljate tih 10 uzoraka jedan po jedan u kavez.

An animal only needs two hundredths of a second

I životinja treba samo dvije stotinke sekunde

to discriminate the scent, so it goes extremely fast.

da odredi miris, tako da to ide jako brzo.

Here it's already at the third sample.

Sada je već kod trećeg uzorka.

This is a positive sample.

Ovo je pozitivan uzorak.

It gets a click sound and comes for the food reward.

Čuje zvuk klika i dolazi po nagradu u vidu hrane.

And by doing so, very fast,

I čineći to, vrlo brzo,

we can have like a second-line opinion

možemo imati drugo mišljenje

to see which patients are positive,

kako bismo provjerili koji su pacijenti pozitivni,

which are negative.

koji negativni.

Just as an indication,

Samo kao indikacija,

whereas a microscopist can process

gdje mikroskopist može procesuirati

40 samples in a day,

40 uzoraka dnevno,

a rat can process

štakor može procesuirati

the same amount of samples

istu količinu uzoraka

in seven minutes only.

za sedam minuta.

A cage like this --

Ovakav kavez --

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

A cage like this -- provided that you have rats,

Ovakav kavez -- podrazumijevajući da imate štakore,

and we have now currently

a mi sad trenutno

25 tuberculosis rats --

imamo 25 štakora za tuberkulozu --

a cage like this, operating throughout the day,

ovakav kavez, radeći kroz čitav dan,

can process 1,680 samples.

može procesuirati 1.680 uzoraka.

Can you imagine the potential offspring applications --

Možete li zamisliti potencijal primjene --

environmental detection

uočavanje u okolišu

of pollutants in soils,

onečišćivača u tlu,

customs applications,

primjena na carinama,

detection of illicit goods in containers and so on.

uočavanje nezakonith proizvoda u kontejnerima i tako dalje.

But let's stick first to tuberculosis.

Ali držimo se prvo tuberkuloze.

I just want to briefly highlight,

Želim samo kratko naglasiti,

the blue rods

plavi štapići

are the scores of microscopy only

su rezultati samo mikroskopije

at the five clinics in Dar es Salaam

u pet klinika u Dar es Salaamu

on a population of 500,000 people,

na populaciji od 500.000 ljudi,

where 15,000 reported to get a test done.

gdje je 15.000 ljudi došlo napraviti testiranje.

Microscopy for 1,800 patients.

Mikroskopija za 1.800 pacijenata.

And by just presenting the samples once more to the rats

I samo prikazivanjem tih uzoraka još jednom štakorima

and looping those results back,

i provjeravajući još jednom rezultate,

we were able to increase case detection rates

povećali smo postotak otkrivanja zaraze

by over 30 percent.

za više od 30 posto.

Throughout last year,

Kroz prošlu godinu,

we've been -- depending on which intervals you take --

bili smo -- ovisno koje intervale uzmete --

we've been consistently

mi smo ustrajno

increasing case detection rates

povećavali postotak otkrivanja zaraze

in five hospitals in Dar es Salaam

u pet bolnica u Dar es Salaamu

between 30 and 40 percent.

za 30 do 40 posto.

So this is really considerable.

Tako da ovo nije zanemarivo.

Knowing that a missed patient by microscopy

Znajući da pacijent koji nije oktriven na mikroskopiji

infects up to 15 people,

zarazi do 15 ljudi,

healthy people, per year,

zdravih ljudi, godišnje,

you can be sure

možete biti sigurni

that we have saved lots of lives.

da smo spasili mnogo života.

At least our hero rats have saved lots of lives.

Barem su naši junački štakori spasili puno života.

The way forward for us

Put za napredak za nas

is now to standardize this technology.

je standardizirati ovu tehnologiju.

And there are simple things

I postoje jednostavne stvari

like, for instance, we have a small laser in the sniffer hole

kao na primjer, imamo mali laser u rupi za njuškanje

where the animal has to stick for five seconds.

gdje životinja mora ostati 5 sekundi.

So, to standardize this.

Dakle, standardizacija ovoga.

Also, to standardize the pellets,

Također, standardizirati granule,

the food rewards,

nagrade u hrani,

and to semi-automate this

i polu automatizirati ovo

in order to replicate this on a much larger scale

kako bismo replicirali to na puno većem obujmu

and affect the lives of many more people.

i utjecali na živote puno više ljudi.

To conclude, there are also other applications at the horizon.

Da zaključim, postoje i druge mogućnosti primjene na obzoru.

Here is a first prototype

Ovo je prvi prototip

of our camera rat,

našeg štakora s kamerom,

which is a rat with a rat backpack

koji je štakor s naprtnjačom

with a camera that can go under rubble

i kamerom koja može ići pod ruševine

to detect for victims

tražeći žrtve

after earthquake and so on.

nakon potresa i tako dalje.

This is in a prototype stage.

Ovo je u fazi prototipa.

We don't have a working system here yet.

Nemamo još funkcionirajući sustav ovdje.

To conclude, I would actually like to say,

Da zaključim, volio bih reći,

you may think this is about rats, these projects,

možete misliti da se u ovim projektima radi o štakorima,

but in the end it is about people.

ali na kraju riječ je o ljudima.

It is about empowering vulnerable communities

Radi se o osnaživanju ranjivih zajednica

to tackle difficult, expensive

kako bi se nosili s teškim, skupim

and dangerous humanitarian detection tasks,

i opasnim humanitarnim zadacima uočavanja,

and doing that with a local resource,

i to na način da koriste lokalni resurs,

plenty available.

koji je lako dostupan.

So something completely different

Dakle nešto potupno drugačije

is to keep on challenging your perception

kako bi bilo stalni izazov vašoj percepciji

about the resources surrounding you,

resursa koji vas okružuju,

whether they are environmental,

bilo da su u okolišu,

technological, animal, or human.

tehnologiji, životinjama, ili ljudima.

And to respectfully harmonize with them

i da ih s poštovanjem uskladimo s našim životima

in order to foster a sustainable world.

kako bismo prihvatili održivi rad.

Thank you very much.

Hvala vam puno.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)