癌细胞检测技术摘得“亚洲创新奖”金奖

Technology for detecting cancer cells in blood, developed in Singapore, took the top prize in The Wall Street Journal's Asian Innovation Awards, which were announced Tuesday.

在周二公布的《华尔街日报》2012年亚洲创新奖中，新加坡开发出来的血液癌细胞检测技术赢得最高奖。

The second prize went to light, flexible padding for body armor, also from Singapore, while an outsourcing company bringing jobs to rural India came in third.

银奖由同为新加坡开发出来的轻质柔软防弹衣填充物摘得。一家为印度农村地区带来就业机会的外包公司获得铜奖。

The three winners reflect some of the broader issues that the Asian-Pacific region's entrepreneurs are trying to tackle, such as health-care-related challenges and ways to improve the living conditions of the underprivileged in emerging economies.

上述三个奖项归属反映出亚太地区企业正在努力解决的一些更广泛的问题，比如与医疗有关的挑战，以及改善新兴经济体弱势群体生活条件的途径。

This year, the Journal received more than 240 applications. A team of Journal editors narrowed the pool to 52, before an independent panel of judges from the private sector and academia worked with the editors to select 12 finalists.

今年，本报共收到逾240份申请。本报的一个编辑小组筛选出其中的52份申请，然后一个由私营部门和学术界人士组成的独立评审团与编辑们一起选出进入决赛的12个申请者。

From among the 12 finalists, the judges chose the Gold, Silver and Bronze Prize winners, as well as the Technopreneur of the Year award for an entry that best applies technology with the greatest potential for commercial success.

在这12个晋级决赛的申请者中，评审团选出金奖、银奖和铜奖得主，并将“年度科技企业奖(Technopreneur of the Year)授予能够最好地将技术用于实际、有着最大商业成功潜力的申请者。

One of the prominent themes among this year's applicants was how to find solutions to health-care-related problems, often linked to social issues such as population aging, economic disparity and poverty.

今年申请者中的一个主要主题是如何为与医疗有关的问题找到解决方案。这类问题常常与人口老龄化、财富分配不均和贫困等社会问题密不可分。

'Some of this year's participants were quite experienced and polished, while others demonstrated a lot of enthusiasm,' said Pindar Wong, chairman of technical consulting firm VeriFi (Hong Kong) Ltd., who served on the panel of five judges.

技术咨询公司VeriFi (Hong Kong) Ltd.主席Pindar Wong说，今年一些参选者经验非常丰富、技术非常成熟，另外一些参选者则显示出极大的热情。Wong是评审团的五位成员之一。

'Those are both equally important qualities for entrepreneurs,' Mr. Wong said. 'We are seeing more maturity and diversity.'

Wong说：这些品质对企业家来说同等重要。我们开始看到更加成熟、更加多样的申请。

Still, finishing lines are still quite far for Asian entrepreneurs, he said.

尽管如此，他说，对亚洲企业家来说，还有很长的路要走。

'In Asia, we have less experience and entrepreneurial depth compared with Silicon Valley, so this will take time,' he said.

他说，亚洲的经验和创业深度都不如硅谷，所以这需要时间。

While some applicants deal with health-care issues that are closely tied to socioeconomic conditions specific to their countries, Singapore-based Clearbridge BioMedics Pte., whose entry won the Gold Prize as well as the Technopreneur of the Year award, is contributing to world-wide efforts to detect and fight cancer.

一些申请者研究的是与其所在国家的具体社会经济状况密切相关的问题，而新加坡的Clearbridge BioMedics Pte.则为世界范围的癌症检测及抗癌努力做出贡献。该公司赢得了金奖及年度科技企业奖。

Clearbridge said it is developing a way to isolate circulating tumor cells -- stodgy cancer cells that spill out of the malignant tumor and flow into the bloodstream -- using a biochip that it says will physically trap such cells with its microscopic structure.

Clearbridge说，该公司正在开发一种用生物芯片分离循环肿瘤细胞的方法。循环肿瘤细胞指的是扩散至恶性肿瘤病灶以外，进入血液的顽固癌细胞。该公司说，生物芯片将利用其显微结构捕获这类癌细胞。

Those cancer cells in the bloodstream could provide clues about the spread of the disease and possibly help in early detection, scientists say.

科学家们说，血液中的癌细胞可能提供有关癌症扩散情况的线索，并有可能帮助进行早期检测。

Clearbridge -- spun off from the National University of Singapore, which provided funding for the venture -- hasn't yet run clinical trials for the ClearCell biochip, but plans to do so within the next year.

Clearbridge是从新加坡国立大学(National University of Singapore)分立出来的，由该校提供资金。该公司尚未对ClearCell生物芯片进行临床试验，但计划未来一年中将开展此类试验。

Nanotechnology, or microscopic engineering techniques, is opening up many new possibilities in the field of biomedical research, said Clearbridge Managing Partner Johnson Chen.

Clearbridge执行合伙人Johnson Chen说，纳米技术（又名显微工程技术）正在为生物医学研究领域带来很多新的可能。

'Our results so far have been promising, but the key test for us now is how this technology works in the real world,' Mr. Chen said.

Chen说：目前为止我们的研究结果充满希望，但对我们来说眼下一个关键考验是这项技术的实际应用情况如何。

To improve the biochip, the company is working with medical researchers in the U.S., Europe and Asia, he said.

他说，为了改进生物芯片，该公司正在和美国、欧洲和亚洲的医学研究人员展开合作。

The Silver Prize went to Sofshell Pte. Ltd., another Singapore-based startup, which has developed body-armor padding using lightweight material that is soft under normal conditions but hardens upon impact.

银奖获得者是新加坡的另一家初创企业Sofshell Pte. Ltd.。该公司研发出避弹衣夹层使用的填充物。这种填充物由一种轻质材料制成。这种材料在正常情况下是柔软的，但遇到撞击就会变硬。

The company, spun off from the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering at Singaporean government research agency A*STAR, says the material enables the wearer to maneuver more easily, without sacrificing the level of protection.

该公司说，这种材料令穿戴者活动更方便，同时又不会降低对穿戴者的保护程度。该公司是从新加坡政府研究机构A*STAR下属材料研究与工程研究所(Institute of Materials Research and Engineering)剥离出来的。

Possible applications include sportswear as well as police and military body-armor products. Other than protecting the human body, the material could also be used for protective cases for electronics devices and other fragile items, the company says.

这一创新的可能应用包括运动服装以及警用和军用人体防护产品。该公司说，除了保护人体，这种材料也可以用于保护电子设备和其它易碎物品。

Sofshell is now building a full-scale production line for protective equipment in Singapore and expects the facility to be ready by the end of March.

Sofshell目前正在新加坡建设一条防护设备的完整生产线，预计明年3月底前就可以竣工。

Securing funding is always a challenge, but the Singapore government has been 'very supportive,' said Chief Executive Elgin Yap.

该公司首席执行长Elgin Yap说，获得资金始终是一个挑战，但新加坡政府一直非常支持。

The company plans to manufacture military body-armor products as well as hip protectors for the elderly.

该公司计划生产军用人体防护产品以及老年人使用的髋关节保护产品。

'We see a lot of potential because the needs for products designed for elderly people aren't restricted to Singapore or Asia,' Mr. Yap said.

Yap说：我们看到了很大的潜力，因为专为老年人设计的产品的需求并不仅限于新加坡或亚洲。

Another common theme among this year's applicants was how businesses could help create opportunities for underprivileged communities.

今年的申请者中普遍呈现的另一大常见主题是，企业如何能为贫困社区创造机会。

RuralShores Business Services Pvt., the winner of the Bronze Prize, runs outsourcing services such as data entry, bookkeeping and expenses at offices in small towns and villages in India, providing rural youth with job opportunities.

铜奖得主RuralShores Business Services Pvt专门在印度的小村镇经营数据录入、办公室记账和费用支出等外包服务。这些服务给农村青年提供了就业机会。

While most outsourcing firms in India operate in urban centers, some, like RuralShores, are trying to take advantage of untapped talent in rural areas, allowing local youth to find jobs without relocating to cities. Still, such operations often face difficulties because of underdeveloped infrastructure, particularly Internet connectivity and power supply.

虽然印度的大多数外包服务公司都在大城市中心运营，但RuralShores等部分企业则试图利用农村地区尚未被利用的人才，以便当地青年不用搬迁就可以找到工作。不过，这些企业往往面临种种困难，因为农村地区基础设施建设滞后，特别是互联网接入和电力供应。

RuralShores now has 12 work centers, and its aim is to increase the number to 100 over the next five years.

RuralShores现在有12个工作中心，其目标是在未来五年内将这一数字增加至100以上。

To achieve that goal, one of the key tasks is to ease clients' concerns about potential problems of rural operations.

为了实现这一目标，关键任务之一是让客户不再担心农村经营可能存在的问题。

'In India, many companies still associate rural villages primarily with poor connectivity and power, instead of focusing on cost advantages,' said Amit Maini, head of operations at RuralShores.

RuralShores的运营主管麦尼(Amit Maini)说，在印度，很多企业仍然将农村地区和上网难、电力供应不稳联系在一起，而不是关注农村地区的成本优势。

The company uses backup systems to make its services more secure and reliable, while providing potential customers with data showing proven track records at rural work centers.

该公司使用备份系统令自己的服务更加安全可靠，同时向潜在客户提供数据，显示农村工作中心经过验证的良好记录。

Entries for the awards came from all around Asia. Of the 12 finalists announced in August, three were from Singapore, while another three came from India and another three from Hong Kong.

这一奖项的申请者来自亚洲各个国家和地区。今年8月公布的入围决赛的12个申请者中，有三个来自新加坡，三个来自印度，还有三个来自香港。

The other three finalists were from the Philippines, Pakistan and Australia.

另有三个分别来自菲律宾、巴基斯坦和澳大利亚。

The judges were selected by journalists at The Wall Street Journal, and coverage of the event and its winners is the sole responsibility of the Journal's news department.

大赛评委由《华尔街日报》的记者选出，对创新奖及其获奖者的报道工作由《华尔街日报》资讯部门独自完成。