托福閱讀機(jī)經(jīng)背景文化類醫(yī)用植入設(shè)備

1、智課網(wǎng)TOEFL備考資料托福閱讀機(jī)經(jīng)背景文化類：醫(yī)用植入設(shè)備 Science and technology. 科技。 Medical implants. 醫(yī)用植入設(shè)備。 A sweet idea. 一個(gè)甜美的想法。 Researchers are trying to harness glucose-the body's own fuel-to power implantable gadgets such as pacemakers. 研究人員正試圖利用葡萄糖-人體自身的燃料-作為像起搏器這樣的可植入設(shè)備的能源 LIKE any other electrical device, a pa

2、cemaker needs a power source. Since the first permanent pacemaker was installed in 1958, manufacturers of implantable medical devices (IMDs) have tinkered with many different ways of supplying electricity to their products. A variety of chemical batteries have been tried, as well as inductive rechar

3、ging schemes and even plutonium power cells that convert the heat from radioactive decay into electricity. Plutonium-powered pacemakers still turn up from time to time in mortuaries and hospitals, and a failure to dispose of them properly keeps America's Nuclear Regulatory Commission busy handin

4、g out citations to unsuspecting hospitals. 和其他所有的電子設(shè)備一樣，一個(gè)起搏器同樣需要能源。自從1958年第一個(gè)永久起搏器被植入后，可植入醫(yī)療設(shè)備的制造商就在不斷嘗試為其產(chǎn)品提供電能的各種方法。嘗試了各種化學(xué)電池以及感應(yīng)充電計(jì)劃，甚至是將放射衰變的熱能轉(zhuǎn)換為電能的钚電源單元格?，F(xiàn)在，钚電源起搏器還是時(shí)不時(shí)的出現(xiàn)在停尸房和醫(yī)院中，并且使得美國核管理委員忙于忙于處罰那些疏于妥善處理钚電源起搏器的醫(yī)院。 Today, non-rechargeable lithium-based batteries are common. Used in many card

5、iological and neurological implants, they provide between seven and ten years of life. That is more than enough: the speed of medical progress is such that by the time the battery has run down it is generally time to replace the whole device with a newer model in any case. 如今，不可充電的鋰電池較為普遍。應(yīng)用在心臟病和神經(jīng)源

6、性疾病的移植設(shè)備中，一般能夠提供7年到10年的使用時(shí)間。這么長的使用時(shí)間顯得綽綽有余：醫(yī)學(xué)發(fā)展的速度意味著等到設(shè)備的電量用光就到了用一個(gè)更先進(jìn)的型號(hào)來替換整個(gè)設(shè)備的時(shí)候。 But that has not dissuaded researchers from continuing to seek perfection, in the form of a compact, perpetual energy source which does not require external recharging. Now, several researchers are closing in on ju

7、st such a solution using glucose, a type of sugar that is the main energy source for all cells in the body. 然而這并沒有阻止研究人員繼續(xù)尋找完美的，緊湊型的永久能源，從而使得這些移植設(shè)備不再需要外部充電?，F(xiàn)在，幾個(gè)研究人員正在接近一個(gè)能夠提供這樣能源的方法，使用葡萄糖，即為人體所有細(xì)胞提供主要能源的一種糖。 Many other ideas have been tried down the years. The kinetic energy of the human body, for

8、example, has long been harnessed to power watches, and should also be enough to keep a pacemaker ticking. Temperature differences between the body and the ambient air mean that thermoelectric couples can generate useful quantities of juice. A properly tuned device could capture background radio-freq

9、uency energy and rectify it into small amounts of usable power. 這些年還有許多其他想法也被嘗試。比如，很久以前人體動(dòng)能就用來為手表提供能量，這種動(dòng)能也足夠維持起搏器的運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)。人體與外部環(huán)境的溫差意味著熱電偶能夠產(chǎn)生一定數(shù)量能量。一個(gè)適當(dāng)調(diào)諧裝置能夠捕獲北京射頻能量并且將其轉(zhuǎn)換成少量可用能源。 Although all these ideas have been shown to work in theoretical tests on lab benches, they all suffer from the same handic

10、ap: intermittent operation. Unconscious patients, for instance, generate little kinetic energy. Sitting in a warm room reduces the power available from thermocouples. And radio waves are common but not ubiquitous. These are serious drawbacks for an IMD that may be responsible for keeping someone ali

11、ve. 盡管這些想法在實(shí)驗(yàn)的理論測試中運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)正常，但是他們都有一個(gè)同樣的缺陷：間歇運(yùn)行。例如，處于昏迷的患者產(chǎn)生的人體動(dòng)能很少。處于溫暖的房間中會(huì)減少熱電偶產(chǎn)生的可用能量。另外射頻很常見，但是也不是處處可見。這些問題對(duì)于維持生命的可移植醫(yī)療設(shè)備來說都是十分嚴(yán)重的缺陷。 Power in the blood. 血液中的能量。 A glucose-powered implant would solve such problems. Glucose is continuously delivered throughout the body by its circulatory systems. A s

12、ugar-powered device would therefore have access to a constant supply of fuel, and could be implanted almost anywhere. 而一個(gè)葡萄糖供能的移植設(shè)備可以解決這些問題。葡萄糖由人體的循環(huán)系統(tǒng)被源源不斷的輸送到人體各處。一個(gè)糖分供能的設(shè)備因此能夠取得持續(xù)供給的能量并且?guī)缀蹩梢栽谌魏挝恢眠M(jìn)行移植。 One approach, which has been employed by Sameer Singhal, a researcher at the CFD Research Corpor

13、ation in Alabama, involves the same enzymes that break down glucose within a living cell. Using carbon nanotubes, he and his colleagues immobilised two different enzymes on the electrodes of a fuel cell, where they generated electricity by freeing electrons from glucose. At present, only two of the

14、24 available electrons in a single glucose molecule can be harnessed, but refinements to the technology should boost that number. 就職于Alabama的CFD Research Corporation的研究人員Sameer Singhal所使用的方法涉及利用酶將活細(xì)胞中的葡萄糖分解。利用碳納米管，他和他的同事在燃料電池的電子上找到了2種不同的酶，在燃料電池中他們通過釋放葡萄糖的電子來產(chǎn)生電能?，F(xiàn)在，在一個(gè)葡萄糖分子中的24個(gè)可用電子中只有2個(gè)可以利用，但是對(duì)這項(xiàng)技術(shù)的后續(xù)完善應(yīng)該會(huì)使得可以利用的電子數(shù)量有所增加。 Dr Singhal has implanted prototype devices into live beetles. Fitted with a fuel cell about the size of a penny, the bionic bugs were able to generate over 20 microwatts (20 millionths of a watt) during a two