ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Franz Freudenthal - Pediatric cardiologist
With his unique inventions (including a device knitted from threads of high-tech alloy by indigenous craftswomen), Franz Freudenthal saves children from congenital heart defects.

Why you should listen

In his quest to understand the complexities of congenital heart disease, Bolivian-German physician and inventor Franz Freudenthal creates and produces sophisticated devices aimed at improving the lives of patients, especially children that will carry this device inside their heart for the rest of their lives.

His most heralded invention, the Nit Occlud, closes a hole in the heart or arteries and restores basic heart functionality. Freudenthal works with top scientists and universities from Europe and North and South America; however, his heart is in Bolivia, where he works with a team of engineers and highly skilled laborers and dreams of healthy children.

More profile about the speaker
Franz Freudenthal | Speaker | TED.com
TED2016

Franz Freudenthal: A new way to heal hearts without surgery

Franz Freudenthal: Unha nova forma de curar corazóns sen ciruxía

Filmed:
1,498,108 views

Na intersección entre a invención médica e a cultura indíxena, o cardiólogo pediatra Franz Freudenthal remenda ocos nos corazóns de nenos de todo o mundo usando un dispositivo nacido da tecelaxe tradicional boliviana. "Os problemas máis complexos do noso tempo", di el, "poden solucionarse con técnicas sinxelas, se somos quen de soñar".
- Pediatric cardiologist
With his unique inventions (including a device knitted from threads of high-tech alloy by indigenous craftswomen), Franz Freudenthal saves children from congenital heart defects. Full bio

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

00:12
The most complex problems in our time
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Os problemas máis complexos do noso tempo
00:16
can be solved with simple techniques,
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poden solucionarse con técnicas sinxelas,
00:19
if we are able to dream.
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se somos capaces de soñar.
00:22
As a child, I discovered
that creativity is the key
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Cando era rapaz, descubrín que
a creatividade é a clave
00:27
to cross from dreams to reality.
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para que os soños se fagan realidade.
00:33
I learned this from my grandmother,
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Aprendín isto da miña avoa,
00:35
Dr. Ruth Tichauer,
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a doutora Ruth Tichauer,
00:38
a Jewish refugee that settled
in the heart of the Andes.
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unha refuxiada xudía que se
asentou no corazón dos Andes.
00:43
That is how I grew up:
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Así foi como medrei:
00:46
encouraged to see beyond any limitation.
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alentado para ver máis alá
de calquera limitación.
00:50
So part of my education
included helping her
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Así pois, parte da miña educación
incluía axudala
00:54
in remote, indigenous communities.
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en comunidades indíxenas afastadas.
00:57
I cherish those memories,
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Aprecio moito estas lembranzas,
01:00
because they helped me
to understand life outside the city,
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porque me axudaron a comprender
a vida fóra da cidade,
01:07
a life with a lot of possibilities,
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unha vida cunha chea de posibilidades,
01:10
without barriers, as language or culture.
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sen barreiras como a lingua ou a cultura.
01:13
During those trips, my grandmother
used to recite a Kipling poem:
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Durante esas viaxes, a miña avoa
adoitaba recitar un poema de Kipling:
01:18
"Something hidden. Go and find it.
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"Hai algo agochado. Vai e atópao.
01:22
Go and look behind the Mountains.
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Vai e búscao detrás das montañas.
01:24
Something lost behind the mountains.
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Algo perdido detrás das montañas.
01:28
Lost and waiting for you. Go!"
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Perdido e agardando por ti. Vai!"
01:33
In the coming years,
I became a medical student.
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Nos anos seguintes,
comecei a estudar medicina.
01:38
One of every hundred
children born worldwide
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Un de cada cen nenos nacidos no mundo
01:43
has some kind of heart disease.
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sofre algún tipo de enfermidade cardíaca.
01:47
There's a part of this problem
I think I can solve --
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Hai unha parte deste problema
que creo poder resolver.
01:52
the part of this problem
I have spent my life working on.
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Unha parte na que traballei
toda a miña vida.
01:59
The problem starts
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O problema comeza
02:02
during pregnancy.
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durante o embarazo.
02:04
The fetus needs to survive
inside the mother.
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O feto necesita sobrevivir dentro da nai.
02:08
Survival depends on communication
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A súa supervivencia
depende da comunicación
02:13
between the systemic
and the pulmonary blood.
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entre o sangue sistémico
e o sangue pulmonar.
02:16
At the moment of birth,
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No momento do nacemento,
02:19
this communication needs to stop.
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esta comunicación necesita deterse.
Se isto non acontece, o bebé
terá un oco no corazón.
02:22
If it doesn't close, the baby
has a hole in the heart.
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02:27
It is caused by prematurity
and genetic conditions.
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Isto é causado pola prematuridade
e certas condicións xenéticas.
02:32
But what we know today
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Pero o que sabemos a día de hoxe
02:35
is that a lack of oxygen
is also one of the causes.
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é que a falta de osíxeno
tamén é unha das causas.
02:41
As you can see in the chart,
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Como se pode ver neste gráfico,
02:43
the frequency of this kind of hole
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a frecuencia coa que aparece
este tipo de oco
02:48
dramatically increases with altitude.
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aumenta drasticamente coa altitude.
02:52
Video: (Baby crying)
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Vídeo: (Bebé chorando)
02:56
When you look at patients
with this condition,
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Cando examinas a pacientes
con este problema,
02:59
they seem desperate to breathe.
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parecen desesperarse por respirar.
03:02
To close the hole, major surgery
used to be the only solution.
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A única solución para pechar o oco
adoitaba ser unha cirurxía maior.
03:08
One night, my friend Malte,
were camping in the Amazon region.
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Unha noite, o meu amigo Malte e mais eu
estabamos a acampar na rexión do Amazonas.
03:14
The only thing that would not burn
in the fire was a green avocado branch.
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A única cousa que non ardía no lume
era unha póla verde de aguacate.
03:21
Then came a moment of inspiration.
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Despois tivemos un momento de inspiración.
03:24
So we used the branch as a mold
for our first invention.
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Utilizamos a póla como un molde
para a nosa primeira invención.
03:29
The holes in children's hearts
can be closed with it.
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Os ocos nos corazóns dos nenos
poden pecharse con el.
03:32
A coil is a piece of wire
wrapped onto itself.
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Unha bobina é un anaco de cable
enrolado sobre si mesmo.
03:37
It maybe doesn't look so fancy to you now,
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Se cadra non semella demasiado
sofisticado agora,
03:40
but that was our first successful attempt
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pero foi o noso primeiro intento con éxito
03:44
to create a device for this major problem.
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de crear un dispositivo que resolvese
este gran problema.
03:49
In this video, we can see
how a very tiny catheter
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Neste vídeo pode verse
como un catéter minúsculo
03:52
takes the coil to the heart.
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conduce a bobina ata o corazón.
03:55
The coil then closes the hole.
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A bobina logo pecha o oco.
03:57
After that moment of inspiration,
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Despois dese momento de inspiración,
04:00
there came a very long time of effort
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veu un longo período de moito esforzo
04:06
developing a prototype.
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para desenvolver un prototipo.
04:08
In vitro and in vivo studies took
thousands of hours of work in the lab.
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Os estudos in vitro e in vivo supuxeron
milleiros de horas no laboratorio.
04:15
The coil, if it works, can save lives.
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Se a bobina funciona, pode salvar vidas.
04:20
I returned from Germany to Bolivia,
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Volvín a Bolivia dende Alemaña,
04:22
thinking that wherever we go,
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pensando que onde queira que vaiamos,
04:25
we have the opportunity
to make a difference.
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temos a oportunidade de facer a diferenza.
04:29
With my wife and partner,
Dr. Alexandra Heath,
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A miña muller e compañeira,
a doutora Alexandra Heath, e mais eu
comezamos a ver pacientes.
04:33
we started to see patients.
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04:35
After successfully treating
patients with our coil,
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Despois de levar a cabo con éxito
tratamentos coa nosa bobina,
04:39
we felt really enthusiastic.
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sentímonos moi entusiasmados.
04:42
But we live in a place
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Pero vivimos nun lugar
situado a 3700 metros de altitude
04:46
that is 12,000 feet high.
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04:51
And,
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e os pacientes alí
04:54
the patients there need a special device
to solve their heart condition.
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requiren un dispositivo especial para
resolver os seus problemas de corazón.
04:59
The hole in altitude
patients is different,
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O oco dos pacientes que viven
en altitude é distinto
05:02
because the orifice
between the arteries is larger.
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porque o orificio entre as arterias
é máis grande
05:06
Most patients cannot afford
to be treated on time,
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A maioría dos pacientes non teñen
os medios para ser tratados a tempo
05:11
and they die.
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e morren.
05:13
The first coil could successfully treat
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A primeira bobina podía tratar con éxito
05:17
only half of the patients in Bolivia.
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tan só a metade dos pacientes de Bolivia.
05:23
The search started again.
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A busca comezou de novo.
05:26
We went back to the drawing board.
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Volvemos ao principio.
Despois de moitos intentos,
05:31
After many trials,
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05:33
and with the help of my grandmother's
indigenous friends in the mountains,
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e coa axuda das amigas indíxenas da
miña avoa que vivían nas montañas,
05:38
we obtained a new device.
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deseñamos un novo dispositivo.
05:40
For centuries, indigenous women
told stories by weaving complex patterns
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Durante séculos, as mulleres indíxenas
contaban historias tecendo
patróns complexos en teares.
05:46
on looms,
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05:48
and an unexpected skill
helped us for the new device.
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Esta habilidade inesperada axudounos
a crear este novo artefacto.
05:53
We take this traditional method of weaving
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Usamos este método tradicional de tecido
05:56
and make a design made by a smart material
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para crear un deseño
feito dun material intelixente
06:00
that records shape.
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que recorda a forma.
06:03
It seems this time,
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Parece que desta vez
06:05
the weaving allows us
to create a seamless device
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o tecido nos permite crear
un mecanismo sen costuras
06:10
that doesn't rust
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que non se enferruxa
06:13
because it's made of only one piece.
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porque está feito dunha única peza.
06:17
It can change by itself
into very complex structures
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Pode transformarse en estruturas
moi complexas
06:21
by a procedure that took
decades to develop.
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a través dun procedemento que foi
desenvolvido durante décadas.
06:26
As you can see, the device enters the body
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Como poden ver,
o dispositivo entra no corpo
06:29
through the natural channels.
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a través de condutos naturais.
06:32
Doctors have only to close
the catheter through the hole.
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Os médicos só teñen que introducir
o catéter a través do oco.
06:36
Our device expands, places itself
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O dispositivo expándese, posiciónase
06:38
and closes the hole.
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e pecha o oco.
06:42
We have this beautiful delivery system
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Contamos con este sistema de condución
06:45
that is so simple to use
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que é moi sinxelo de utilizar
06:47
because it works by itself.
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porque funciona por si mesmo.
06:50
No open surgery was necessary.
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Non se precisou cirurxía aberta.
06:55
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
07:04
As doctors, we fight with diseases
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Como médicos, loitamos con enfermidades
07:06
that take a long time
and effort to heal -- if they do.
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que requiren moito tempo e esforzo
para curar, se é que isto acontece.
07:11
This is the child from before,
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Este é o neno de antes
07:14
after the procedure.
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despois da intervención.
07:15
As you can see --
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Como poden ver...
07:17
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
07:22
As you can see,
once the device is in place,
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Como poden ver, unha vez que o
dispositivo está colocado
07:25
the patient is 100 percent healed.
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o paciente está completamente curado.
07:28
From start to finish,
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De principio a fin,
07:30
the whole procedure takes only 30 minutes.
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todo o procedemento dura só 30 minutos.
07:35
That's very rewarding from the medical
and human point of view.
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Isto resulta moi gratificante
dende o o punto de vista médico e humano.
07:40
We are so proud that some
of our former patients
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Sentímonos moi orgullosos de que algúns
dos nosos antigos pacientes
07:47
are part of our team --
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formen parte do noso equipo.
07:50
a team, thanks to added close interaction
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Un equipo formado grazas
á estreita interacción
07:54
with patients that work with us.
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con pacientes que traballan con nós.
07:57
Together, we have only one idea:
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Xuntos temos unha idea en común:
08:01
the best solutions need to be simple.
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as mellores solucións deben ser sinxelas.
08:05
We lost the fear
of creating something new.
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Perdemos o medo a crear algo novo.
08:09
The path, it's not easy.
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O camiño non é doado.
08:12
Many obstacles arise all the time.
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Todo o tempo aparecen novos obstáculos;
08:15
But we receive strength from our patients.
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pero a forza que nos transmiten
os nosos pacientes,
08:19
Their resilience and courage
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a súa resiliencia e valor,
08:24
inspire our creativity.
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inspiran a nosa creatividade.
08:27
Our goal is to make sure
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O noso obxectivo é asegurarnos
08:30
that no child is left behind,
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de que ningún neno quede desamparado
08:34
not because of cost or access.
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debido ao custo ou a carecer de acceso.
08:39
So we have to start a foundation
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Por iso, precisamos crear unha fundación
08:42
with a one-to-one model.
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cun modelo individualizado.
08:45
We will give one device for free
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Daremos un dispositivo gratis
08:49
to make sure that every child is treated.
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para garantir que todos os nenos
sexan tratados.
08:53
We are in many countries now,
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Agora mesmo estamos presentes
en moitos países,
08:56
but we need to be everywhere.
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pero necesitamos chegar a todo o mundo.
09:00
This whole thing began
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Todo este proxecto comezou
09:03
with one impossible idea
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cunha idea imposible,
09:06
as will continue it, really:
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e continuará deste xeito:
09:10
No child is left behind.
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Ningún neno quedará desamparado.
09:15
Muchas gracias.
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Moitas grazas.
09:17
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Franz Freudenthal - Pediatric cardiologist
With his unique inventions (including a device knitted from threads of high-tech alloy by indigenous craftswomen), Franz Freudenthal saves children from congenital heart defects.

Why you should listen

In his quest to understand the complexities of congenital heart disease, Bolivian-German physician and inventor Franz Freudenthal creates and produces sophisticated devices aimed at improving the lives of patients, especially children that will carry this device inside their heart for the rest of their lives.

His most heralded invention, the Nit Occlud, closes a hole in the heart or arteries and restores basic heart functionality. Freudenthal works with top scientists and universities from Europe and North and South America; however, his heart is in Bolivia, where he works with a team of engineers and highly skilled laborers and dreams of healthy children.

More profile about the speaker
Franz Freudenthal | Speaker | TED.com