Nithya Ramanathan: The problem of vaccine spoilage -- and a smart sensor to help | TED

翻译人员: Kate Zhao 校对人员: Helen Chang

There I was, an American woman,

我在那里，一个美国女人，

up to my knees in muck, wielding these strange metal boxes.

烂泥堆到了我的膝盖， 我挥舞着这些奇怪的金属盒子。

I was in rural Bangladesh,

我当时在孟加拉国农村，

deploying sensors that we'd built

部署着我们做的传感器，

in order to understand why the ground water was making people sick.

为了了解为什么地下水导致人们生病。

And I attracted some attention.

我当时引人注目。

But my tech simply measured the problem.

而我的机器仅仅检测到了问题。

The local communities that I'd really come to connect with

我真正想与之联系的当地社区

were expecting a solution.

在期待一个解决办法。

So I raised funds, hired engineers from the city

所以我筹集资金， 雇了城市来的工程师，

in order to dig a deep well and bypass the arsenic

这样可以挖一口深井，绕过砷，

and provide access to clean water.

提供干净的水。

And we celebrated.

我们欢庆了新水源。

But as I boarded the plane, I thought, “What if it breaks?”

但在我登机时，我想到， “万一井坏了怎么办？”

I'm an engineer.

我是一个工程师。

I know that's not if but when.

我知道那不是一个假设， 而是时间问题。

When the well breaks, who will fix it?

当井坏了的时候，谁来修它呢？

How will they pay for it?

当地人如何支付那些费用呢？

And will they even know there's a problem in the first place?

他们会知道井出问题了吗？

And I soon learned that this is all too often

而我很快了解到，这种情况太多了，

how lifesaving equipment is deployed globally

救生设备被全球性地部署

in countries with limited electricity and infrastructure.

在电力和基础设施有限的国家里。

I kept thinking, I don't want to just build sensors

我一直在想，我不想仅仅制造探测仪，

that measure a problem once it's very bad.

只能在问题很严重的时候 才能检测到的探测仪。

What if instead we brought together the tech built to measure

如果我们把检测问题的科技

together with the equipment built to solve?

和解决问题的设备的结合起来呢？

What could we unlock?

我们会解锁什么呢？

Take vaccines.

接种疫苗。

Vaccines won't work if they get too hot or, surprisingly, too cold,

如果疫苗太热或者太冷的话， 疫苗不会起作用。

so distributing vaccines requires refrigerators,

所以分配疫苗需要冰箱，

big and small,

大大小小的冰箱，

to function reliably.

来让疫苗有效地运作。

Fridges can save lives,

冰箱可以拯救生命，

but all too often, like any kitchen appliance, they break.

但通常像任何一个 厨房电器一样，冰箱会坏。

One study in South Asia found

一个在南亚的研究发现

that over half of vaccine doses showed evidence of temperature damage

超过一半的疫苗剂量 有温度损坏的迹象

by the time of the end of their journey.

在它们使用期的最后。

This means that the children that would have received those vaccines

这意味着接种这些疫苗的孩子们

may not have actually been protected.

可能没有被真正地保护到位。

Fridge failure is a big problem,

冰箱损坏是一个大问题，

and it can happen anywhere.

它可以在任何地方发生。

Here in California,

在这里，加利福尼亚州，

in 2015, Stanford Children's Health discovered a fridge

在2015年，斯坦福 儿童健康研究所发现了一个冰箱

that had been malfunctioning for up to eight months.

已经失灵八个月了。

Staff contacted 1,500 families about revaccinating those children.

工作人员联系了1500个家庭 讨论重新给孩子接种疫苗的问题。

But what if you can't just get the families on the phone?

但是，如果你就是在电话里 联系不上这些家庭呢？

What if they live a six-hour walk away?

如果他们住的地方需要走六个小时呢？

What if that first shot is your only shot?

如果他们的第一针疫苗 是你仅存的一支疫苗了呢？

The stakes are high, especially now with COVID vaccines.

风险很高，尤其对于现在的新冠疫苗。

Now, in May 2021, in Tanzania,

如今，在2021年5月，在坦桑尼亚，

a failing fridge with our smart sensor

一个装有我们智能传感器的冰箱坏了，

prompted an immediate response from the regional immunization officer,

知会区域免疫官员立即做出反映，

and a technician was out to the site and fixed some faulty wiring,

派出一名技术人员 到现场修复一些故障线路，

and all the vaccines at that site stayed safe.

这样现场的所有疫苗是安全的。

Real-time sensor data made all the difference.

实时传感器数据让一切变得不同。

We built a simple solution that continuously monitors the temperature

我们做出了一个简单的方案 可以持续地监控温度

and keeps that fridge in Tanzania connected.

并保持与坦桑尼亚冰箱的连接。

It sends an immediate text message automatically when the fridge fails,

当冰箱坏了的时候，传感器 会自动发出即时短信，

and importantly, the nurses and the technicians are ready

而重要的是，护士和技术人员准备就绪

and equipped to respond and fix the problem.

准备好回应并解决问题。

My team and our partners have scaled this technology

我的团队和我们的合作伙伴 已经将这门技术发展到了

to over 15,000 sites across Asia and Africa,

亚洲和非洲的15,000多个地点，

protecting the vaccine supply

保护疫苗的供应，

for one in 10 babies born on Earth each year.

供应地球上每年 出生婴儿中的十分之一。

(Applause)

（掌声）

And the same data that's used to actually detect the broken equipment

而用于检测破损设备的同样数据

can also be used to reveal the strongest links in the chain.

也可以被用来去反映供应链中 最牢固的环节。

These are the best sites and routes to use in an emergency.

这是在紧急情况下的 最好的地点和路线。

My team is working now with countries

我的团队在和很多国家合作

to reveal these pathways for COVID vaccines,

来揭示新冠疫苗的途径，

so using sensor data for identifying the best vaccine sites

所以使用传感器数据可以来确认

in terms of temperature control.

温度控制方面的最好疫苗站点。

In turn, these sites can then serve as a backbone for all vaccine delivery.

反过来，这些站点也可以成为 所有疫苗运输的主干。

Now and in the future.

在当今，也在未来。

So here's what I've learned.

这是我学到的。

Sensor data can change the game

传感器数据可以改变局势，

by providing a common source of ground truth

通过提供一个基础真相的常见来源，

that enables coordinated action required to maintain lifesaving equipment.

从而实现维护救生设备 所需的协调行动。

Not just vaccine fridges

不仅仅是疫苗冰箱，

but any equipment deployed to save lives,

而且还有任何被部署的救生设备，

from solar panels on hospitals to ventilators and oxygen tanks.

从医院的太阳能板到呼吸机和氧气罐。

But in order to realize these benefits,

但为了了解这些益处，

we need to invest in data

我们需要为数据投资

and ensure that local communities and countries

来确保当地的社区和国家

are in the driver's seat

可以驾驭，

and that they have access to the resources they need

并可以获得他们所需的资源

to act on what their data is telling them.

来根据数据告诉他们的信息采取行动。

It's worth it.

这是值得的。

I know, because I have seen how the same tech can be used to measure,

我知道，因为我见识到了 同样的技术可以如何被用作去量测，

solve big problems and sustain those solutions.

去解决大问题，并维持着解决方案。

Just as my friends in Bangladesh were right to expect all along.

正如我在孟加拉国的朋友们 一直期待的那样。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）