ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tania Douglas - Biomedical engineering professor
Tania Douglas imagines how biomedical engineering can help address some of Africa's health challenges.

Why you should listen

Tania Douglas's research interests include medical imaging and image analysis, the development of contextually appropriate technology to improve health and health innovation management, particularly the mechanisms of medical device innovation in South Africa.

Douglas is engaged in capacity building for biomedical engineering and needs-based health technology innovation at universities across the African continent; two such projects are "Developing Innovative Interdisciplinary Biomedical Engineering Programs in Africa," in collaboration with Northwestern University and the Universities of Lagos and Ibadan, and "African Biomedical Engineering Mobility," in collaboration with Kenyatta University, Cairo University, Addis Ababa University, the Mbarara University of Science and Technology, the University of Lagos, and the University of Pisa. 

Douglas is the founding Editor-in-Chief of Global Health Innovation, an electronic open-access journal focusing on social and technological innovation for improved health, which launches in 2018. The journal aims to serve as a platform for disseminating research on health innovation in developing settings. 

Douglas has been a Humboldt Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research in Cologne and at the Free University of Berlin, an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at University College London, a Visiting Professor at Kenyatta University, and a Visiting Scholar at Northwestern University. She is a fellow of the South African Academy of Engineering, a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, and a Fellow of the International Academy for Medical and Biological Engineering.

 

 

More profile about the speaker
Tania Douglas | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2017

Tania Douglas: To design better tech, understand context

Tania Douglas: Para criar melhores tecnologias, é preciso entender o contexto

Filmed:
1,160,410 views

Do que adianta um equipamento médico sofisticado para pessoas na África se ele não suporta o clima do local? A engenheira biomédica Tania Douglas conta histórias sobre como geralmente não enxergamos as necessidades reais ao tentarmos criar tecnologias, e como um entendimento mais detalhado do contexto onde ela será usada pode nos levar a soluções melhores.
- Biomedical engineering professor
Tania Douglas imagines how biomedical engineering can help address some of Africa's health challenges. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
This is an equipment graveyard.
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Esse é um cemitério de equipamentos.
00:15
It's a typical final resting place
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É o típico local de descanso final
00:17
for medical equipment
from hospitals in Africa.
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de equipamentos médicos
que saem de hospitais na África.
00:20
Now, why is this?
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Mas, por quê?
00:22
Most of the medical devices
used in Africa are imported,
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A maioria dos equipamentos médicos
utilizados na África são importados
00:26
and quite often, they're not suitable
for local conditions.
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e normalmente, não são adequados
para as condições locais.
00:31
They may require trained staff
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Eles exigem funcionários treinados
00:34
that aren't available to operate
and maintain and repair them;
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que não estão disponíveis para operá-los,
conservá-los ou consertá-los.
00:38
they may not be able to withstand
high temperatures and humidity;
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Esses equipamentos podem não aguentar
as altas temperaturas e umidade.
00:42
and they usually require a constant
and reliable supply of electricity.
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Normalmente, precisam de fornecimento
constante e seguro de energia.
00:48
An example of a medical device
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Um exemplo de equipamento médico
00:50
that may have ended up
in an equipment graveyard at some point
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que pode ter acabado num cemitério
de equipamentos em algum momento
00:55
is an ultrasound monitor
to track the heart rate of unborn babies.
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é o monitor de ultrassom que mostra
a frequência cardíaca de fetos.
01:00
This is the standard of care
in rich countries.
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Ele é de uso comum em países ricos.
Mas, em locais com recursos escassos,
01:03
In low-resource settings,
the standard of care is often
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o comum é uma parteira ouvir
a frequência cardíaca do bebê
01:07
a midwife listening
to the baby's heart rate
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utilizando estetoscópio de Pinard.
01:10
through a horn.
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01:12
Now, this approach has been around
for more than a century.
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Essa abordagem tem sido usada
há mais de um século.
01:16
It's very much dependent on the skill
and the experience of the midwife.
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Tal técnica é muito dependente
da habilidade e a experiência da parteira.
01:22
Two young inventors from Uganda
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Dois jovens inventores de Uganda
01:25
visited an antenatal clinic
at a local hospital a few years ago,
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visitaram uma clínica pré-natal
num hospital local há alguns anos,
01:29
when they were students
in information technology.
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quando eram estudantes
de tecnologia da informação.
01:33
They noticed that quite often,
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Eles notaram que, muitas vezes,
01:36
the midwife was not able
to hear any heart rate
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a parteira não conseguia ouvir
qualquer batimento cardíaco
01:39
when trying to listen to it
through this horn.
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ao tentar utilizar esse tipo estetoscópio.
01:42
So they invented their own
fetal heart rate monitor.
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Então, eles inventaram seu próprio
monitor de frequência cardíaca fetal.
01:48
They adapted the horn
and connected it to a smartphone.
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Eles adaptaram o estetoscópio
e o conectaram a um smartphone.
01:52
An app on the smartphone
records the heart rate, analyzes it
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Um aplicativo no smartphone registra
a frequência cardíaca, a analisa
01:57
and provides the midwife
with a range of information
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e fornece à parteira
uma gama de informações
02:00
on the status of the baby.
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sobre o estado do bebê.
02:03
These inventors --
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Esses inventores...
02:04
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
02:06
are called Aaron Tushabe
and Joshua Okello.
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chamam-se Aaron Tushabe e Joshua Okello.
02:10
Another inventor, Tendekayi Katsiga,
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Outro inventor, Tendekayi Katsiga,
02:14
was working for an NGO in Botswana
that manufactured hearing aids.
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estava trabalhando em uma ONG em Botswana
que fabricava aparelhos auditivos.
02:20
Now, he noticed that
these hearing aids needed batteries
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Ele notou que esses aparelhos
usavam baterias
que necessitavam de substituição frequente
a um custo nada acessível
02:25
that needed replacement,
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02:27
very often at a cost
that was not affordable
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para a maioria dos usuários
que ele conhecia.
02:29
for most of the users that he knew.
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02:32
In response, and being an engineer,
Tendekayi invented
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Vendo isso, e sendo um engenheiro,
Tendekayi inventou
02:37
a solar-powered battery charger
with rechargeable batteries,
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um carregador de baterias recarregáveis
movido a energia solar
02:40
that could be used in these hearing aids.
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que poderia ser usado
nesses aparelhos auditivos.
02:43
He cofounded a company called Deaftronics,
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Ele cofundou uma empresa
chamada de Deaftronics,
02:47
which now manufactures the Solar Ear,
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que agora fabrica "Solar Ear",
02:50
which is a hearing aid powered
by his invention.
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que é um aparelho auditivo
carregado por sua invenção.
02:55
My colleague, Sudesh Sivarasu,
invented a smart glove
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Meu colega, Sudesh Sivarasu,
inventou uma luva inteligente
03:01
for people who have suffered from leprosy.
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para pessoas que sofreram de hanseníase.
03:03
Even though their disease
may have been cured,
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Mesmo que a doença delas
possa ter sido curada,
03:06
the resulting nerve damage
will have left many of them
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o dano causado no nervo pode ter deixado
muitas delas sem tato nas mãos.
03:10
without a sense of touch in their hands.
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03:12
This puts them at risk of injury.
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Isso as coloca em risco de lesão.
03:16
The glove has sensors
to detect temperature and pressure
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A luva tem sensores para detectar
temperatura e pressão e avisar o usuário.
03:20
and warn the user.
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03:22
It effectively serves
as an artificial sense of touch
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Ela efetivamente serve como
um senso artificial de toque
03:26
and prevents injury.
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e evita lesões.
03:28
Sudesh invented this glove
after observing former leprosy patients
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Sudesh inventou essa luva depois
de observar ex-pacientes com hanseníase
03:32
as they carried out
their day-to-day activities,
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realizando suas atividades diárias,
03:35
and he learned about the risks
and the hazards in their environment.
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e ele descobriu os riscos
e perigos no ambiente deles.
03:41
Now, the inventors that I've mentioned
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Os inventores que mencionei
03:43
integrated engineering with healthcare.
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integraram engenharia com cuidado médico.
03:47
This is what biomedical engineers do.
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É isso que engenheiros biomédicos fazem.
03:50
At the University of Cape Town,
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Na Universidade da Cidade do Cabo,
03:52
we run a course called
Health Innovation and Design.
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nós oferecemos um curso chamado
de Inovação e Design em Saúde.
03:55
It's taken by many of our graduate
students in biomedical engineering.
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É feito por muitos dos nossos estudantes
de pós-graduação em engenharia biomédica.
04:00
The aim of the course
is to introduce these students
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O objetivo do curso é
apresentar aos alunos
04:03
to the philosophy of the design world.
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a filosofia do mundo do design.
04:06
The students are encouraged
to engage with communities
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Os alunos são incentivados
a se envolver com as comunidades
04:09
as they search for solutions
to health-related problems.
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enquanto buscam soluções
para problemas relacionados à saúde.
04:13
One of the communities that we work with
is a group of elderly people
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Uma das comunidades que trabalhamos
é um grupo de idosos na Cidade do Cabo.
04:16
in Cape Town.
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04:17
A recent class project had the task
of addressing hearing loss
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Um projeto de aula recente era abordar
o problema de perda de audição
04:21
in these elderly people.
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nesses idosos.
04:23
The students, many of them
being engineers,
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Os estudantes, muitos deles engenheiros,
04:26
set out believing that they
would design a better hearing aid.
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estabeleceram que projetariam
um aparelho auditivo melhor.
Eles passaram um tempo com os idosos
04:31
They spent time with the elderly,
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04:33
chatted to their healthcare providers
and their caregivers.
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e conversaram com profissionais de saúde
e os cuidadores deles.
04:37
They soon realized that, actually,
adequate hearing aids already existed,
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Eles logo perceberam que, na verdade,
aparelhos auditivos adequados já existiam,
mas muitos dos idosos que precisavam
e poderiam acessá-los não os tinham.
04:42
but many of the elderly who needed them
and had access to them
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04:46
didn't have them.
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E muitos daqueles que tinham
aparelhos auditivos não os usavam.
04:47
And many of those who had hearing aids
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04:50
wouldn't wear them.
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04:52
The students realized
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Os alunos perceberam
04:54
that many of these elderly people
were in denial of their hearing loss.
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que muitos desses idosos
negavam sua perda auditiva.
Há um estigma associado
ao uso de um aparelho auditivo.
04:58
There's a stigma attached
to wearing a hearing aid.
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05:01
They also discovered that the environment
in which these elderly people lived
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Eles também descobriram que o local
em que esses idosos viviam
05:06
did not accommodate their hearing loss.
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não acomodava sua perda auditiva.
05:08
For example, their homes
and their community center
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Por exemplo, a casa
e o centro comunitário deles
05:12
were filled with echoes
that interfered with their hearing.
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estavam cheios de ecos
que interferiam na audição deles.
05:15
So instead of developing and designing
a new and better hearing aid,
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Então, em vez de desenvolver e projetar
um aparelho auditivo novo e melhor,
05:21
the students did an audit
of the environment,
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os alunos estudaram o ambiente,
05:23
with a view to improving the acoustics.
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com o objetivo de melhorar a acústica.
05:27
They also devised a campaign
to raise awareness of hearing loss
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Eles também iniciaram uma campanha
para aumentar a conscientização
sobre a perda auditiva
05:31
and to counter the stigma
attached to wearing a hearing aid.
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e combater o estigma associado
ao uso de um aparelho auditivo.
05:35
Now, this often happens
when one pays attention to the user --
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Isso geralmente acontece
quando alguém presta atenção ao usuário,
05:39
in this case, the elderly --
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neste caso os idosos,
05:40
and their needs and their context.
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e suas necessidades e seu contexto.
05:43
One often has to move away
from the focus of technology
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Muitas vezes é preciso
tirar o foco da tecnologia
05:46
and reformulate the problem.
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e reformular o problema.
05:48
This approach to understanding a problem
through listening and engaging
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Esta abordagem de entender um problema,
ouvindo e se envolvendo, não é nova,
05:52
is not new,
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05:54
but it often isn't followed by engineers,
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mas muitas vezes não é
seguida por engenheiros,
05:57
who are intent on developing technology.
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que são designados
para desenvolver tecnologia.
06:01
One of our students has a background
in software engineering.
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Um dos nossos alunos tem
uma bagagem em engenharia de software.
06:05
He had often created products for clients
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Ele costumava criar produtos
que o cliente acabava não gostando.
06:07
that the client ultimately did not like.
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06:10
When a client would reject a product,
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Quando um cliente rejeitava um produto,
era comum em sua empresa assumir
06:13
it was common at his company
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06:15
to proclaim that the client
just didn't know what they wanted.
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que o cliente simplesmente
não sabia o que queria.
06:19
Having completed the course,
the student fed back to us
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Após completar o curso, o aluno nos disse
06:22
that he now realized
that it was he who hadn't understood
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que percebeu que era ele
que não tinha entendido
o que o cliente queria.
06:26
what the client wanted.
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06:28
Another student gave us feedback
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Outra estudante nos disse
que ela aprendeu conosco
a projetar com empatia,
06:30
that she had learned
to design with empathy,
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06:33
as opposed to designing for functionality,
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ao contrário de projetar
para funcionalidade,
06:36
which is what her engineering
education had taught her.
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que é o que sua educação
em engenharia lhe ensinou.
06:39
So what all of this illustrates is that
we're often blinded to real needs
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Isso tudo ilustra que muitas vezes
não enxergamos as necessidades reais
06:43
in our pursuit of technology.
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em nossa busca por tecnologia.
06:45
But we need technology.
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Porém, precisamos de tecnologia.
Precisamos de aparelhos auditivos e
de monitores de frequência cardíaca fetal.
06:47
We need hearing aids.
We need fetal heart rate monitors.
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06:51
So how do we create more medical device
success stories from Africa?
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Como criamos mais histórias de sucesso
de dispositivos médicos na África?
06:56
How do we create more inventors,
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Como podemos criar mais inventores,
06:58
rather than relying on
a few exceptional individuals
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em vez de confiar em algumas
pessoas excepcionais
que são capazes de perceber
as necessidades reais
07:02
who are able to perceive real needs
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07:04
and respond in ways that work?
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e encontram soluções que funcionam?
07:06
Well, we focus on needs
and people and context.
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Bem, nos concentramos
nas necessidades, pessoas e contexto.
07:10
"But this is obvious," you might say,
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Você pode dizer: "Mas isso é óbvio,
claro que o contexto é importante".
07:12
"Of course context is important."
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07:15
But Africa is a diverse continent,
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Mas a África é um continente diverso,
07:17
with vast disparities in health and wealth
and income and education.
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com grandes disparidades em saúde,
riqueza, renda e educação.
07:22
If we assume that our engineers
and inventors already know enough
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Se assumirmos que nossos engenheiros
e inventores já sabem o suficiente
07:27
about the different African contexts
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sobre os diferentes contextos africanos
07:30
to be able to solve the problems
of our different communities
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para conseguirem resolver os problemas
das nossas diversas comunidades
incluindo nossas comunidades
mais marginalizadas,
07:34
and our most marginalized communities,
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07:36
then we might get it wrong.
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então podemos estar errados.
07:38
But then, if we on the African continent
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Mas então, se nós no continente africano
07:41
don't necessarily know enough about it,
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não necessariamente sabemos
o suficiente sobre os problemas,
07:44
then perhaps anybody with the right level
of skill and commitment could fly in,
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então talvez alguém com um certo nível
de habilidade e compromisso possa vir,
passar algum tempo ouvindo e se engajando
07:48
spend some time listening and engaging
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e voltar para seu país sabendo
o suficiente para inventar para a África.
07:51
and fly out knowing enough
to invent for Africa.
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07:55
But understanding context is not about
a superficial interaction.
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Mas para entender o contexto,
uma interação superficial não basta.
08:00
It's about deep engagement
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É necessário envolvimento profundo
08:02
and an immersion in the realities
and the complexities of our context.
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e uma imersão nas realidades
e complexidades do nosso contexto.
08:07
And we in Africa are already immersed.
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E nós, na África, já estamos imersos.
08:11
We already have a strong and rich
base of knowledge
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Nós já temos uma base forte
e rica de conhecimento
08:15
from which to start finding solutions
to our own problems.
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para começarmos a encontrar soluções
dos nossos próprios problemas.
08:19
So let's not rely too much on others
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Então, não devemos depender
tanto dos outros
08:23
when we live on a continent
that is filled with untapped talent.
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quando vivemos em um continente
cheio de talentos inexplorados.
08:28
Thank you.
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Obrigada.
(Aplausos)
08:29
(Applause)
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Translated by Ana Paula Dias
Reviewed by Maricene Crus

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Tania Douglas - Biomedical engineering professor
Tania Douglas imagines how biomedical engineering can help address some of Africa's health challenges.

Why you should listen

Tania Douglas's research interests include medical imaging and image analysis, the development of contextually appropriate technology to improve health and health innovation management, particularly the mechanisms of medical device innovation in South Africa.

Douglas is engaged in capacity building for biomedical engineering and needs-based health technology innovation at universities across the African continent; two such projects are "Developing Innovative Interdisciplinary Biomedical Engineering Programs in Africa," in collaboration with Northwestern University and the Universities of Lagos and Ibadan, and "African Biomedical Engineering Mobility," in collaboration with Kenyatta University, Cairo University, Addis Ababa University, the Mbarara University of Science and Technology, the University of Lagos, and the University of Pisa. 

Douglas is the founding Editor-in-Chief of Global Health Innovation, an electronic open-access journal focusing on social and technological innovation for improved health, which launches in 2018. The journal aims to serve as a platform for disseminating research on health innovation in developing settings. 

Douglas has been a Humboldt Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research in Cologne and at the Free University of Berlin, an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at University College London, a Visiting Professor at Kenyatta University, and a Visiting Scholar at Northwestern University. She is a fellow of the South African Academy of Engineering, a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, and a Fellow of the International Academy for Medical and Biological Engineering.

 

 

More profile about the speaker
Tania Douglas | Speaker | TED.com
THE ORIGINAL VIDEO ON TED.COM