Song | Three university students in Uganda have created WinSenga |
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Album | VOA慢速英语:科技报道 |
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[00:00.10] | From VOA Learning English, |
[00:02.31] | this is the Technology Report. |
[00:04.88] | Three university students in Uganda |
[00:08.83] | have created a smartphone application |
[00:11.63] | that may help improve health care |
[00:14.69] | for pregnant women in rural areas. |
[00:17.63] | Joshua Okello and two other students |
[00:21.81] | at Makerere University in Kampal |
[00:24.92] | created the app in 2012. |
[00:28.12] | They call it WinSenga - |
[00:31.03] | "senga" is the local word |
[00:33.63] | uses to describe a female family member |
[00:36.93] | who helps a woman during pregnancy. |
[00:40.09] | The "Win" in the name |
[00:42.17] | comes from the Microsoft product Windows. |
[00:45.23] | Last year, the computer software company |
[00:49.19] | gave Mr Okello and his partners $50,000 |
[00:54.35] | to continue development on the WinSenga app. |
[00:58.25] | A small microphone is placed inside a plastic horn. |
[01:03.91] | Mr Okello says midwives in the area |
[01:07.66] | have used similar devices for centuries |
[01:11.28] | to help women during childbirth. |
[01:14.03] | "It's a long cone-shaped device |
[01:16.04] | with a hole through it |
[01:17.49] | and a flat top. |
[01:18.84] | The midwife places it on the belly |
[01:20.69] | and listens in. |
[01:22.74] | Every midwife in this country has seen it, |
[01:25.80] | and that is what they are trained with," said Okello. |
[01:27.70] | The smartphone app records and examines |
[01:31.86] | the sound of the unborn baby's heartbeat. |
[01:34.87] | Mr Okello says, if the app suspects a problem, |
[01:39.56] | then it informs the midwife of different actions she might take. |
[01:45.83] | "Say you have a baby and |
[01:47.60] | we detect that the heartbeat is |
[01:49.75] | less than 120 beats per minute. |
[01:52.07] | That is a problem. So immediately, |
[01:54.22] | we pop up something that says ‘Please, |
[01:56.13] | we suggest that you could do A, B, C, D,'" explained Okello. |
[01:58.77] | Mr Okello says having a mobile device with this app |
[02:03.63] | could make it easier for health care workers |
[02:06.64] | to reach women in villages far away from cities. |
[02:10.95] | He says it will also be less costly |
[02:14.96] | than the machines that are now being used. |
[02:18.13] | "We are getting a solution that's cheaper, |
[02:20.73] | which means that more clinics are going to get it. |
[02:23.03] | If we could get Huawei |
[02:24.03] | or I don't know who to give us phones for free, |
[02:26.84] | we are looking at a solution that's less than $100," said Okello. |
[02:29.80] | Juliet Birungi is an obstetrician - |
[02:33.85] | a doctor who cares for pregnant women. |
[02:37.30] | She has tried WinSenga. |
[02:40.00] | She says hospitals could use the app |
[02:43.66] | to help medical workers follow the health of the baby, |
[02:47.12] | even when they are not there. |
[02:50.09] | "You have so many mothers in labor, |
[02:52.24] | and we do not have enough staff. |
[02:53.55] | You find that while the mother is |
[02:55.91] | laboring here, the other one is delivering, |
[02:58.66] | the other one is bleeding. |
[03:00.61] | So when you come, |
[03:01.71] | you are able to look at the recording," said Birungi. |
[03:04.11] | Doctor Birungi says |
[03:05.96] | having these up to date records of the baby's health condition, |
[03:10.17] | could make the difference between life and death. |
[03:14.43] | But she says the app is not a substitute |
[03:18.48] | for a trained medical worker. |
[03:20.58] | Mr Okello says the app could also be helpful |
[03:25.24] | in other developing countries |
[03:27.99] | with similar problems to Uganda. |
[03:29.74] | And he says, with further changes to the app, |
[03:33.80] | it could even be used at home |
[03:36.31] | by pregnant women in developed countries. |
[03:39.55] | Work on WinSenga continues. |
[03:42.82] | Mr Okello and his team are busy preparing |
[03:46.72] | for a major series of clinical testing this month. |
[03:51.22] | And that's the VOA Learning English Technology Report. |
[03:55.62] | I'm June Simms. |
[00:00.10] | From VOA Learning English, |
[00:02.31] | this is the Technology Report. |
[00:04.88] | Three university students in Uganda |
[00:08.83] | have created a smartphone application |
[00:11.63] | that may help improve health care |
[00:14.69] | for pregnant women in rural areas. |
[00:17.63] | Joshua Okello and two other students |
[00:21.81] | at Makerere University in Kampal |
[00:24.92] | created the app in 2012. |
[00:28.12] | They call it WinSenga |
[00:31.03] | " senga" is the local word |
[00:33.63] | uses to describe a female family member |
[00:36.93] | who helps a woman during pregnancy. |
[00:40.09] | The " Win" in the name |
[00:42.17] | comes from the Microsoft product Windows. |
[00:45.23] | Last year, the computer software company |
[00:49.19] | gave Mr Okello and his partners 50, 000 |
[00:54.35] | to continue development on the WinSenga app. |
[00:58.25] | A small microphone is placed inside a plastic horn. |
[01:03.91] | Mr Okello says midwives in the area |
[01:07.66] | have used similar devices for centuries |
[01:11.28] | to help women during childbirth. |
[01:14.03] | " It' s a long coneshaped device |
[01:16.04] | with a hole through it |
[01:17.49] | and a flat top. |
[01:18.84] | The midwife places it on the belly |
[01:20.69] | and listens in. |
[01:22.74] | Every midwife in this country has seen it, |
[01:25.80] | and that is what they are trained with," said Okello. |
[01:27.70] | The smartphone app records and examines |
[01:31.86] | the sound of the unborn baby' s heartbeat. |
[01:34.87] | Mr Okello says, if the app suspects a problem, |
[01:39.56] | then it informs the midwife of different actions she might take. |
[01:45.83] | " Say you have a baby and |
[01:47.60] | we detect that the heartbeat is |
[01:49.75] | less than 120 beats per minute. |
[01:52.07] | That is a problem. So immediately, |
[01:54.22] | we pop up something that says ' Please, |
[01:56.13] | we suggest that you could do A, B, C, D,'" explained Okello. |
[01:58.77] | Mr Okello says having a mobile device with this app |
[02:03.63] | could make it easier for health care workers |
[02:06.64] | to reach women in villages far away from cities. |
[02:10.95] | He says it will also be less costly |
[02:14.96] | than the machines that are now being used. |
[02:18.13] | " We are getting a solution that' s cheaper, |
[02:20.73] | which means that more clinics are going to get it. |
[02:23.03] | If we could get Huawei |
[02:24.03] | or I don' t know who to give us phones for free, |
[02:26.84] | we are looking at a solution that' s less than 100," said Okello. |
[02:29.80] | Juliet Birungi is an obstetrician |
[02:33.85] | a doctor who cares for pregnant women. |
[02:37.30] | She has tried WinSenga. |
[02:40.00] | She says hospitals could use the app |
[02:43.66] | to help medical workers follow the health of the baby, |
[02:47.12] | even when they are not there. |
[02:50.09] | " You have so many mothers in labor, |
[02:52.24] | and we do not have enough staff. |
[02:53.55] | You find that while the mother is |
[02:55.91] | laboring here, the other one is delivering, |
[02:58.66] | the other one is bleeding. |
[03:00.61] | So when you come, |
[03:01.71] | you are able to look at the recording," said Birungi. |
[03:04.11] | Doctor Birungi says |
[03:05.96] | having these up to date records of the baby' s health condition, |
[03:10.17] | could make the difference between life and death. |
[03:14.43] | But she says the app is not a substitute |
[03:18.48] | for a trained medical worker. |
[03:20.58] | Mr Okello says the app could also be helpful |
[03:25.24] | in other developing countries |
[03:27.99] | with similar problems to Uganda. |
[03:29.74] | And he says, with further changes to the app, |
[03:33.80] | it could even be used at home |
[03:36.31] | by pregnant women in developed countries. |
[03:39.55] | Work on WinSenga continues. |
[03:42.82] | Mr Okello and his team are busy preparing |
[03:46.72] | for a major series of clinical testing this month. |
[03:51.22] | And that' s the VOA Learning English Technology Report. |
[03:55.62] | I' m June Simms. |
[00:00.10] | From VOA Learning English, |
[00:02.31] | this is the Technology Report. |
[00:04.88] | Three university students in Uganda |
[00:08.83] | have created a smartphone application |
[00:11.63] | that may help improve health care |
[00:14.69] | for pregnant women in rural areas. |
[00:17.63] | Joshua Okello and two other students |
[00:21.81] | at Makerere University in Kampal |
[00:24.92] | created the app in 2012. |
[00:28.12] | They call it WinSenga |
[00:31.03] | " senga" is the local word |
[00:33.63] | uses to describe a female family member |
[00:36.93] | who helps a woman during pregnancy. |
[00:40.09] | The " Win" in the name |
[00:42.17] | comes from the Microsoft product Windows. |
[00:45.23] | Last year, the computer software company |
[00:49.19] | gave Mr Okello and his partners 50, 000 |
[00:54.35] | to continue development on the WinSenga app. |
[00:58.25] | A small microphone is placed inside a plastic horn. |
[01:03.91] | Mr Okello says midwives in the area |
[01:07.66] | have used similar devices for centuries |
[01:11.28] | to help women during childbirth. |
[01:14.03] | " It' s a long coneshaped device |
[01:16.04] | with a hole through it |
[01:17.49] | and a flat top. |
[01:18.84] | The midwife places it on the belly |
[01:20.69] | and listens in. |
[01:22.74] | Every midwife in this country has seen it, |
[01:25.80] | and that is what they are trained with," said Okello. |
[01:27.70] | The smartphone app records and examines |
[01:31.86] | the sound of the unborn baby' s heartbeat. |
[01:34.87] | Mr Okello says, if the app suspects a problem, |
[01:39.56] | then it informs the midwife of different actions she might take. |
[01:45.83] | " Say you have a baby and |
[01:47.60] | we detect that the heartbeat is |
[01:49.75] | less than 120 beats per minute. |
[01:52.07] | That is a problem. So immediately, |
[01:54.22] | we pop up something that says ' Please, |
[01:56.13] | we suggest that you could do A, B, C, D,'" explained Okello. |
[01:58.77] | Mr Okello says having a mobile device with this app |
[02:03.63] | could make it easier for health care workers |
[02:06.64] | to reach women in villages far away from cities. |
[02:10.95] | He says it will also be less costly |
[02:14.96] | than the machines that are now being used. |
[02:18.13] | " We are getting a solution that' s cheaper, |
[02:20.73] | which means that more clinics are going to get it. |
[02:23.03] | If we could get Huawei |
[02:24.03] | or I don' t know who to give us phones for free, |
[02:26.84] | we are looking at a solution that' s less than 100," said Okello. |
[02:29.80] | Juliet Birungi is an obstetrician |
[02:33.85] | a doctor who cares for pregnant women. |
[02:37.30] | She has tried WinSenga. |
[02:40.00] | She says hospitals could use the app |
[02:43.66] | to help medical workers follow the health of the baby, |
[02:47.12] | even when they are not there. |
[02:50.09] | " You have so many mothers in labor, |
[02:52.24] | and we do not have enough staff. |
[02:53.55] | You find that while the mother is |
[02:55.91] | laboring here, the other one is delivering, |
[02:58.66] | the other one is bleeding. |
[03:00.61] | So when you come, |
[03:01.71] | you are able to look at the recording," said Birungi. |
[03:04.11] | Doctor Birungi says |
[03:05.96] | having these up to date records of the baby' s health condition, |
[03:10.17] | could make the difference between life and death. |
[03:14.43] | But she says the app is not a substitute |
[03:18.48] | for a trained medical worker. |
[03:20.58] | Mr Okello says the app could also be helpful |
[03:25.24] | in other developing countries |
[03:27.99] | with similar problems to Uganda. |
[03:29.74] | And he says, with further changes to the app, |
[03:33.80] | it could even be used at home |
[03:36.31] | by pregnant women in developed countries. |
[03:39.55] | Work on WinSenga continues. |
[03:42.82] | Mr Okello and his team are busy preparing |
[03:46.72] | for a major series of clinical testing this month. |
[03:51.22] | And that' s the VOA Learning English Technology Report. |
[03:55.62] | I' m June Simms. |