Listen to the sounds of why hearing matters to the Alaskan Native people.
请大家听听为什么, 听力对于阿拉斯加原住民 是非常重要的。
Hearing loss makes it hard to fish on the open water, hunt caribou and harvest berries, activities central to Alaskan Native culture. Hearing loss isn't unique to rural Alaska. It's global. The Global Burden of Disease Project estimates there are 1.1 billion people living with hearing loss worldwide. That's more people than the entire population here in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 80 percent are in low- and middle-income countries, and many have no access to hearing care.
听力缺损使人们很难 在天然水域捕鱼、 难以捕猎驯鹿和采收浆果, 而这些活动是阿拉斯加 原住民文化的核心。 听力缺损的问题并非 阿拉斯加农乡村独有。 它是全球性的问题。 据“全球疾病负担项目”估计, 全世界有11亿人都有 不同程度的听力缺损。 这比非洲撒哈拉以南的 总人口数还多。 这些人里,有80%以上 生活在中低收入国家, 许多人得不到听力保健服务。
The impact on people's lives is tremendous. Anuk is a three-year-old boy I treated in Alaska. Ear infections started when he was barely four months old. His parents brought him into clinic, worried he didn't say much compared to his brothers. Sure enough, many rounds of infections had resulted in hearing loss. Without treatment, Anuk's speech will continue to lag behind. He's more likely to do worse in school, have worse job prospects and experience social isolation.
这对人们生活的影响是巨大的。 阿努克是我在阿拉斯加 治疗的一名三岁男孩。 他四个月大时耳朵发生了感染。 他的父母带他来诊所, 担心他和兄弟们相比说话太少。 果然,多轮的感染 导致他出现了听力缺损。 如果不治疗,阿努克的 语言能力发展将继续滞后。 他很可能在学校表现越来越差、 工作前景堪忧, 还可能会经历社交孤立。
But it doesn't have to be this way. The World Health Organization estimates that half of all global hearing loss can be prevented. If Anuk's hearing loss is identified and treated promptly, his life and the opportunities he has as he grows up could look vastly different.
但我们对此并非毫无办法。 世界卫生组织估计, 全球听力缺损中,有一半 是可以预防的。 如果阿努克的听力缺损 被及时发现和治疗, 他的生活和他长大后 所拥有的机会 应该会有很大改观。
I'm an ear surgeon working with partners around the world on new pathways for hearing loss prevention. This solution comes from my collaboration with a tribal health organization called the Norton Sound Health Corporation. Hearing loss evaluation traditionally requires testing by an audiologist in a soundproof room, with a lot of permanent equipment. An ear surgeon then examines Anuk's ears under a microscope and decides a treatment plan. These resources simply aren't available in remote settings. In a state where 75 percent of communities aren't connected to a hospital by road, an expensive flight is required. To overcome these barriers, Alaska has developed a state-of-the-art telemedicine system that connects over 250 village health clinics with specialists who triage all types of health concerns. My colleagues have validated that ear-related telemedicine consults are equivalent to an in-person exam. In 2016, travel was prevented for 91 percent of patients receiving specialty telemedicine in the Norton Sound region. Telemedicine has saved over 18 million in travel costs in this single region over the past 15 years.
我是一名耳科医生, 与世界各地的伙伴合作, 探索预防听力缺损的新途径。 这个解决方案来自我与 一个部落健康组织—— “诺顿湾健康公司”的合作。 传统的听力缺损评估需要 听力师在隔音室 进行测试, 还需要很多固定设备。 然后耳科医生在显微镜下 检查阿努克的耳朵, 再决定治疗方案。 而偏远地区根本不具备 这样的医疗条件。 在这个州,75%的居民区没有公路 能通向医院, 需要费用高昂的飞行交通。 为了克服这些障碍, 阿拉斯加开发了 一个最先进的远程医疗系统, 将250多个乡村诊所连接到 对各类健康问题进行分诊的专家。 我的同事已经验证, 与耳科相关的远程医疗咨询 和面对面检测的效果相当。 在2016年,诺顿湾地区 接受专业远程医疗的患者中, 有91%不再需要去医院就医。 在过去15年里,远程医疗 仅在这一地区就节省了 1800多万的差旅花费。
Our team is taking the power of telemedicine to a new level, through a project funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. For the first time, we are merging telemedicine with mobile screening technology that extends the reach of expert triage beyond health care settings. This cell-based screen, developed in South Africa, costs over 10 times less than traditional equipment and does not require advanced training. If I were screening Anuk at school, sound-attenuating headphones and noise monitoring would take the place of a sound booth, and I would use a phone adapter instead of a microscope to examine his ears. In a matter of minutes, screening and images are done. We then apply Alaska telemedicine technology to transmit the data to specialists, who connect Anuk to the treatment he needs.
我们的团队正在让 远程医疗迈上新台阶, 这是由一家 患者导向的医疗效果 研究所资助的项目。 我们首次将远程医疗与 移动筛查技术相结合, 将专家分诊的范围扩大到 医疗诊治的环境之外。 这种基于手机的筛查 是在南非开发的, 花费不到传统设备的十分之一, 且不需要高级培训。 假如我在阿努克的学校 给他做筛查, 降噪耳机和噪音监测 将取代隔音室, 我能使用手机转接器 直接来检查他的耳朵, 而不再需要借助显微镜。 只要几分钟,筛查和拍照就完成了。 然后我们应用阿拉斯加远程医疗技术 将数据传输给专科医生, 专家将为阿努克 选择适合他的治疗方案。
Our team is launching a randomized trial in 15 communities along the Bering Sea to study how well this intervention works. Our goal is to prevent childhood hearing loss across the state of Alaska. But the concept is bigger than a single state. The impact is global. Mobile telemedicine can revolutionize access to care.
我们的团队正在 白令海沿岸的15个社区 展开一项随机试验, 研究这项干预治疗的效果。 我们的目标,是在整个阿拉斯加州 预防儿童听力缺损。 但这个概念背后的意义 远大过一个州。 它的影响是全球性的。 移动远程医疗可以彻底改变 人们的就诊体验。
In Malawi, for example, there are only two ear surgeons and 11 audiologists for a population of 17 million. This technology could empower teachers and community health workers to provide access to care to children in places like Malawi. Scaling up globally could change children's lives who have never had access to hearing care before, using just the power of a cell phone.
例如,在有1700万人口的马拉维, 只有两名耳科医生和11名听力师。 这项技术可以让教师和 社区卫生工作者 有能力为马拉维等地的儿童 提供获得诊疗的机会。 在全球范围内的应用,可以让 从未享受过听力保健的儿童的 生活发生彻底的改变, 这一切只需要借助 手机就可以实现。
It's time to change the course of preventable hearing loss. Anuk and countless children like him are depending on us.
是时候改变可预防性 听力缺损的现状了。 阿努克和无数像他这样的孩子 都在等着我们。
Thank you.
谢谢。
(Applause)
(掌声)