智能尿布追蹤孩子健康狀況
A New York start-up called Pixie Scientific has developed a diaper that the company says can detect possible urinary tract infections, kidney dysfunctions, and dehydration, accompanied by a smartphone app that can transmit the information to a physician.
一個名爲精靈科學(Pixie Scientific)的紐約初創公司發明了一種尿布。公司稱，這種尿布可以察覺潛在的尿路感染、腎功能障礙和脫水等疾病狀況，而且，配合一款智能手機應用，可將相關信息傳達給醫生。"I was driving with my wife and daughter one day, when my wife asked if the baby had wet herself," said Yaroslav Faybishenko, Pixie's founder. "I realized she was sitting in data."
精靈公司的創始人雅羅斯拉夫·菲比申科(Yaroslav Faybishenko)說：“有一天，我開車載着妻子和女兒的時候，妻子問我寶寶是不是尿褲子了。我意識到，孩子的屁股下面就是數據啊。”Other so-called quantified self products have been developed for adults, like products from Jawbone and FitBit that create digital records of calorie expenditure and sleep habits. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, a Taiwanese company called AiQ showed off shirts that it said could measure things like heart rate and other biometric signals.
其他一些所謂的“自我量化”產品專爲成人設計，比如Jawbone和Fitbit兩家公司開發了可以記錄卡路里消耗量和睡眠習慣的數碼產品。在今年的消費者電子產品展(Consumer Electronics Show)上，來自臺灣的AiQ公司展示了一款襯衫產品，聲稱它可以測量穿着者的心率等生物信號。
In contrast to those things, the technology behind the diaper is relatively simple, and it owes as much to the quality of smartphone cameras as it does to clever chemistry.
與上述產品相比，這種尿布背後的技術顯得比較簡單，而且同時倚仗智能手機攝像頭的質量和化學技術的精巧。At the front of the diaper is a patch with several colored squares. Each square represents a different interaction with a protein, water content or bacteria, and changes color if it detects something is outside of normal parameters. There is also a neutral white square, to more easily check for color changes in the other squares.
尿布的正面有一塊補丁，上面帶有五顏六色的方格。每個方格代表着不同的作用，分別用來檢測蛋白質、水含量或細菌。如果發現指標不正常，方格會變色。還有一個白色方塊，從而更易於察覺其他方格的顏色變化。A smartphone app takes a picture and can make precise readings of the chemical data based on color changes. The data is uploaded to a central location, where physicians can get information about how the child is doing and whether the baby needs further testing.
配套的智能手機應用可以拍照並依據顏色變化來對化學數據進行精確的解讀。數據被上傳到一箇中央單元，醫生可以從中得知嬰兒的狀況，以及是否需要進一步檢查。The diaper is expected to be tested at Benioff Children's Hospital of the University of California, San Francisco this September. Columbia University's children's hospital is considering a similar study. If successful, the product may then be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for final approval.
這種尿布預計將於今年9月在加州大學舊金山分校(University of California, San Francisco)的貝尼奧夫兒童醫院(Benioff Children's Hospital)接受測試。哥倫比亞大學(Columbia University)的兒童醫院也在考慮進行類似的研究。如果成功，該產品將被提交給食品與藥物管理局(Food and Drug Administration)進行最後的批准審覈。Mr. Faybishenko said he thought the diaper, which he said would cost about 30 percent more than regular diapers, had potential as a consumer product, for parents who want to keep regular tabs on their child's health. Rather than overwhelming parents with data, the app is likely to let them know whether they should see a pediatrician for one or more possible conditions. With the parents' permission, the detailed urine analysis data could be sent to a doctor's office.
菲比申科表示，他認爲這款比一般尿布貴大概30%的產品有潛力成爲消費者產品，特別是對於希望時時跟進孩子健康狀況的父母來說。應用程序可以讓父母知道，發生某種或某些狀況的時候是否需要看兒科醫生，而不會用一大堆數據將他們包圍。在家長同意的情況下，詳細的尿樣數據可以被傳送給醫生。"You really don't want to overload parents with data they don't understand," he said. "Eventually the quantified self idea will be mostly silent and unobtrusive, just something inside the existing flow of life."
他說：“你絕不想讓父母爲不懂的數據背上過重的負擔。最終，自我量化的理念大體會悄無聲息而不事張揚，成爲日常生活的一部分。”Mr. Faybishenko said the company was working on other tests, but would not specify what they were.
菲比申科稱，公司正在進行其他的研發測試，但不便透露詳細信息。
