I was born and raised in Sierra Leone, a small and very beautiful country in West Africa, a country rich both in physical resources and creative talent.
我在獅子山共和國出生長大。 它是個很小、非常美的國家, 位在西非。 蘊含豐富的自然資源 以及創新人才。
However, Sierra Leone is infamous for a decade-long rebel war in the '90s when entire villages were burnt down. An estimated 8,000 men, women and children had their arms and legs amputated during this time. As my family and I ran for safety when I was about 12 from one of those attacks, I resolved that I would do everything I could to ensure that my own children would not go through the same experiences we had. They would, in fact, be part of a Sierra Leone where war and amputation were no longer a strategy for gaining power.
然而,獅子山以 九〇年代長達十年的 反抗戰爭而惡名昭彰。 當時村落完全被摧毀。 估計有八千名男性、女性、孩童, 當時手臂與腿部遭受截肢。 我和家人為求生命安全而逃亡, 當時有另一起攻擊,我十二歲。 我下定決心,要盡我所能的 確保我自己的孩子 不會經歷我們曾經歷的一切。 他們會身在一個安全的獅子山, 在那裡,戰爭與截肢 不再是爭奪權力的手段。
As I watched people who I knew, loved ones, recover from this devastation, one thing that deeply troubled me was that many of the amputees in the country would not use their prostheses. The reason, I would come to find out, was that their prosthetic sockets were painful because they did not fit well. The prosthetic socket is the part in which the amputee inserts their residual limb, and which connects to the prosthetic ankle. Even in the developed world, it takes a period of three weeks to often years for a patient to get a comfortable socket, if ever. Prosthetists still use conventional processes like molding and casting to create single-material prosthetic sockets. Such sockets often leave intolerable amounts of pressure on the limbs of the patient, leaving them with pressure sores and blisters. It does not matter how powerful your prosthetic ankle is. If your prosthetic socket is uncomfortable, you will not use your leg, and that is just simply unacceptable in our age.
當我看著朋友、我愛的人 從這種蹂躪中復原, 最讓我困擾的其中一件事 就是國內有許多截肢者 都不使用他們的義肢。 我後來發現了原因。 是因為他們義肢的套接口 與身體並不吻合,導致疼痛萬分。 義肢的套接口 是截肢者將殘缺的肢臂 與義肢關節相連的地方。 即使在已發展國家, 也要三週,甚至通常需幾年時間 才能讓病患獲得舒適的套接口, 有時或許永遠不可能。 義肢師仍用傳統的方式, 像是鑄模等, 製造單一原料的義肢套接口。 這種套接口通常會施加非常重的 壓力於病患的肢臂上, 會導致褥瘡與水泡。 不管 你的義肢踝關節多有力, 如果套接口不舒服, 你就不會使用義肢, 而這在現代是完全無法接受的。
So one day, when I met professor Hugh Herr about two and a half years ago, and he asked me if I knew how to solve this problem, I said, "No, not yet, but I would love to figure it out." And so, for my Ph.D. at the MIT Media Lab, I designed custom prosthetic sockets quickly and cheaply that are more comfortable than conventional prostheses. I used magnetic resonance imaging to capture the actual shape of the patient's anatomy, then use finite element modeling to better predict the internal stresses and strains on the normal forces, and then create a prosthetic socket for manufacture. We use a 3D printer to create a multi-material prosthetic socket which relieves pressure where needed on the anatomy of the patient. In short, we're using data to make novel sockets quickly and cheaply. In a recent trial we just wrapped up at the Media Lab, one of our patients, a U.S. veteran who has been an amputee for about 20 years and worn dozens of legs, said of one of our printed parts, "It's so soft, it's like walking on pillows, and it's effing sexy." (Laughter)
所以有天我與修.赫 (Hugh Herr) 教授見面, 這大概是兩年半前, 他問我是否知道如何解決這個問題。 我說:「不,還沒, 但我真的很想找出答案。」 所以我在麻省理工學院 媒體實驗室的博士研究中, 設計出客製的義肢套接口, 不只快又便宜, 還比以往義肢更加舒適。 我使用核磁共振成像 捕捉病患身體的形狀, 之後利用有限元素模型化,更精確預測 內部壓力與張力 在一般力道下的狀況。 再來才創造義肢套接口,並進行製作。 我們用 3D 印表機創造 多種材料的義肢套接口, 可以視病患身體的需要減輕壓力。 總而言之,我們利用數據 快速、便宜地製造了新穎的套接口。 我們剛在媒體實驗室中 完成一次試驗。 其中一位病患,是美國退伍軍人, 他二十年前截肢的, 曾穿過十幾隻義肢, 而他說我們用 3D 印出來的部位 「很柔軟,好像走在枕頭上, 真是天殺的性感。」 (笑聲)
Disability in our age should not prevent anyone from living meaningful lives. My hope and desire is that the tools and processes we develop in our research group can be used to bring highly functional prostheses to those who need them. For me, a place to begin healing the souls of those affected by war and disease is by creating comfortable and affordable interfaces for their bodies. Whether it's in Sierra Leone or in Boston, I hope this not only restores but indeed transforms their sense of human potential.
在我們的時代中,殘疾 不應該阻止任何人 過著有意義的生活。 我希望、渴望我們研究小組 所研發的工具與過程, 可以帶來更高效能的義肢, 提供給需要的人。 對我來說, 治癒那些受戰爭、疾病所苦 人們心靈的方式之一, 就是為他們的身體創造 更舒適、便宜的義肢連結面。 不管是在獅子山共和國或波士頓, 我希望這不只能修補, 還能轉變他們的人類潛能。
Thank you very much.
非常感謝各位。
(Applause)
(掌聲)