A teen scientist's invention to help wounds heal | Anushka Naiknaware

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Yanyan Hong

Ever since I was a young girl, I was always fascinated --

從還是小女孩的時候開始， 我就一直很喜歡——

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Oh!

喔！

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

OK, I meant younger and more short.

好吧，我是指我更小、更矮的時候。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

If that's possible to imagine.

如果能想像的話。

But ever since I was a young girl,

但從我是個小女孩的時候開始，

I was always fascinated with how the world worked exactly how it did.

我就一直很喜歡 這個世界運作的方式。

So this, very early on,

所以，很早期，這一點

led me to the fields of mathematics and chemistry.

就引領我進入了數學和化學的領域。

I would keep going further and further, and as I kept going,

我會一直深入再深入， 而隨著我一路走下去，

I realized that all the fields of science are interconnected.

我了解到，科學的所有領域 都是相互連結的。

And without one, the others have little or no value.

沒有一個領域，其他領域的價值 就變得很低或沒價值了。

So, inspired by Marie Curie and my local science museum,

所以，受到居禮夫人 和我當地的科學博物館所鼓舞，

I decided to start asking these questions myself

我決定要開始自己問這些問題，

and engage in my own independent research,

並進行我自己的獨立研究，

whether it be out of my garage or my bedroom.

不論是在我的車庫或臥室進行。

I started reading journal papers,

我開始閱讀期刊文獻，

started doing science competitions,

開始參加科學競賽，

started participating in science fairs,

開始參與科學展覽，

doing anything I could

盡我所能，

to get the knowledge that I so desperately wanted.

取得我迫切想得到的知識。

So while I was studying anatomy for a competition,

所以，當我為了一項競賽 在研究解剖學時，

I came across the topic of something called chronic wounds.

我看到了一個主題，叫做慢性傷口。

And one thing that stood out to me was a statistic

引起我注意的其中一點是統計數字，

that said that the number of people in the United States with chronic wounds

數字顯示，在美國有慢性傷口的人數

exceeds the number of people with breast cancer,

超過了有乳癌、腸癌、

colon cancer, lung cancer and leukemia, combined.

肺癌，以及血癌的人數總合。

Hold up.

等等。

So what is a chronic wound?

慢性傷口是什麼？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And why haven't I heard about a 5K walk for chronic wounds,

為什麼我從來沒有聽過 慢性傷口的五公里慈善步行？

why haven't I even heard about a chronic wound in general?

為什麼我從來沒有聽過慢性傷口？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

So after I got past those preliminary questions,

經過了那些初步的問題之後，

and one that I will clarify for you,

我要向各位澄清其中一個問題，

a chronic wound is essentially when someone gets a normal wound,

慢性傷口基本上就是 一個人身上的普通傷口，

except it fails to heal normally

只是它無法正常癒合，

because the patient has some kind of preexisting condition,

原因是病人有某種既有的狀況，

which in most cases is diabetes.

在大部分的案例中是因為糖尿病。

So more staggering statistics were to be found

當我繼續研究這個主題時，

as I kept going on in this research.

也發現了更驚人的統計數字。

In the year 2010 alone,

光在 2010 年，

50 billion dollars were spent worldwide to treat chronic wounds.

全球就有五百億美金 花費在治療慢性傷口。

In addition, it's estimated that about two percent of the population

此外，估計人口中有 2% 的人

will get a chronic wound at some point in their lifetime.

會在人生的某個時點 遭受慢性傷口的困擾。

This was absurd.

這太荒唐了。

So as I started doing more research,

於是我開始做更多研究，

I found that there was a correlation

我發現有一種相關性

between the moisture level inside a wound dressing

存在於傷口包紮內的濕度

and the stage of healing that the chronic wound would be at.

與慢性傷口所處的癒合階段之間。

So I decided, why don't I design something

所以我下了決定， 我為什麼不來做個設計，

to measure the moisture level within the wound

來測量傷口內的濕度，

so this can help doctors and patients treat their wounds better.

這樣就能協助醫生和病人 把傷口處理得更好？

And essentially, expedite the healing process.

從根本上，還能促進癒合過程。

So that's exactly what I set out to do.

那就是我打算要做的計畫。

Being a 14-year-old working out of her garage-turned-lab,

身為一個十四歲的女孩， 在車庫改裝成的實驗室中工作，

I had a lot of constraints.

我其實碰到許多限制。

Most being that I wasn't given a grant, I wasn't given a lot of money,

大部分是因為我沒有補助， 沒有人贊助我資金，

and I wasn't given a lot of resources.

且我能取得的資源並不多。

In addition, I had a lot of criteria, as well.

此外，我還有許多標準要符合。

Since this product would be readily interacting with the body,

因為這個產品將來 要用來和身體互動，

it had to be biocompatible,

它必須要有生物相容性，

it also had to be low-cost,

它的成本要很低，

as I was designing it and paying for it myself.

因為是我得自己出錢設計的。

It also had to be mass-manufacturable,

它也要能夠大量生產，

because I wanted it to be made anywhere, for anyone.

因為我希望任何地方的 任何人都能用它。

Thus, I drafted up a schematic.

因此，我起草了一張概圖。

What you see on the left hand-side is the early schematics in my design,

左手邊的是我設計的初期概圖，

showing both a bird's-eye view and also one stacking variant.

有鳥瞰的視角和堆疊的變化。

A stacking variant means

所謂堆疊的變化，

that the entire product is consisted of different individual parts

意思是整個產品 是由獨立個別部件所組成，

that have to work in unison.

它們得要能同調地一起運作。

And what's shown there is one possible arrangement.

各位看到的是其中 一種可能的排列方式。

So what exactly is this?

所以，這到底是什麼？

So I had gone on to testing my sensors

我去測試我的感測器，

and as all scientists have stumbles along their work,

所有的科學家在研究路上 都會有被絆倒的時候，

I also had a couple of problems in my first generation of sensors.

而我的第一代感測器 也遇到了一些問題。

First of all, I couldn't figure out

首先，我想不透

how to get a nanoparticle ink into a printcheck cartridge

要如何把奈米墨水放入 列印檢查墨水匣當中，

without spilling it all over my carpet.

且不能濺到我的地毯上。

That was problem number one.

那是問題一。

Problem number two was,

問題二則是，

I couldn't exactly control the sensitivity of my sensors.

我無法控制感測器的敏感度。

I couldn't scale them up or down,

我無法將之調高或調低，

I couldn't really do anything of that sort.

我無法做到那一類的事情。

我需要解決這個問題。

So I wanted something to solve it.

Problem one was easily solved by some scouting on eBay and Amazon

問題一很容易解決， 在 eBay 和亞馬遜網站上搜索

for syringes that I could use.

我能用的注射器就可以了。

Problem two, however, required a lot more thought.

然而，問題二需要更多的思考。

So this is where this factors in.

這就是這個因子出場的時候了。

So what a space-filling curve does

這個填滿空間的曲線

is it aims to take up all the area it can within one unit square.

目的是要在一單位平方的面積中 盡可能佔用所有的空間。

And by writing a computer program, you can have different iterations

透過撰寫電腦程式， 就可以做到不同曲線的

of the different curve,

不同遞迴，

which increasingly get close to one unit square,

曲線會越來越接近一單位平方，

but never quite reaches there.

但永遠不會達到這個目標。

So now I could control the thickness, the size,

然後我就能控制濃度、大小，

I could do whatever I want with it, and I could predict my results.

我能用它做任何我想做的事， 且我能預測結果。

So I started constructing my sensors

於是我開始建構我的感測器，

and testing them more rigorously,

並更嚴格地測試它們，

using money that I had gotten from previous science fair awards.

用的錢是來自我以前 科展得獎的獎金。

Lastly, I had to connect this data in order to be read.

最後，我得要連結這些資料， 要能夠讀取它們。

So I interfaced it with a Bluetooth chip,

所以我用藍芽晶片 為它做了一個界面，

which you can see here by the app screenshots on the right.

你們可以看到右手邊的 應用程式畫面截圖。

And what this does is that anyone can monitor the progress of their wound,

它的功能在於，任何人都可以 監控其傷口的進展狀況，

and it can be transmitted over a wireless connection

它能夠透過無線連結來傳輸，

to the doctor, the patient or whoever needs it.

傳給醫生、病人，或任何需要的人。

[Continued Testing and Refinement]

【持續測試和改良】

So in conclusion, my design was successful --

結論是，我的設計是成功的——

however, science never ends.

然而，科學沒有終點。

There's always something to be done, something to be refined.

總是會有什麼可以做、可以改良。

So that's what I'm currently in the process of doing.

所以，那是我目前正在進行的工作。

However, what I learned was

然而，我所學到的事

what's more important than the actual thing I designed

比我所設計出來的成品更重要，

is an attitude that I had taken on while doing this.

那就是我在做這工作時採用的態度。

And that attitude was,

那種態度就是，

even though I'm a 14-year-old working in her garage

雖然我只有十四歲， 且還是在車庫裡工作，

on something that she doesn't completely understand,

做的是我不完全了解的事，

I could still make a difference and contribute to the field.

但我仍然能夠為這個領域 帶來不同，做出貢獻。

And that's what inspired me to keep going,

正是這一點，鼓舞我繼續走下去，

and I hope it inspires many others to also do work like this

我希望它也能鼓舞 許多其他人也來這麼做，

even though they're not very sure about it.

即使他們並不是很有信心。

So I hope that's a message that you all take on today.

希望大家今天能帶著這個訊息離開。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）