VOA慢速英語:激光束掃描器幾秒即可檢測瘧疾感染

激光束掃描器幾秒即可檢測瘧疾感染

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語健康報道。

Researchers have developed a medical device which they say can find malaria infections in the human body. The laser beam scanner is the first device that can find the sometimes deadly disease without going inside the body. The test is painless, does not need blood from a person, and appears to be right every time it is done.

研究人員稱他們開發(fā)出一種可以檢測人體瘧疾感染的醫(yī)療設備。這種激光束掃描器是第一種無需進入人體即可發(fā)現(xiàn)瘧疾這種有時會致命的疾病的裝置。該檢測是無痛的，無需人的血液，并且似乎每次做完結果都是正確的。

At the present time, a trained medical worker needs costly equipment, a person's blood and a lot of time to know if a person has been infected with malaria. Trained workers, equipment and time are not always available in poor parts of the world. The newly developed device only needs a person to place a finger on a laser device.

目前，經過培訓的醫(yī)務人員需要昂貴的設備，人的血液和大量時間去了解一個人是否感染瘧疾。經過培訓的人員、設備和時間在全球的貧窮地區(qū)并非總能獲得。這種新開發(fā)的設備只需人將一根手指放在一臺激光設備上即可。

Doctor Dmitri Lopotko is a researcher at the department of biochemistry and cell biology at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Dmitri Lopotko博士是得克薩斯州休斯敦萊斯大學生物化學和細胞生物學系的一位研究人員。

"We shine a very short light pulse through the skin. And this light pulse is absorbed only by malaria parasites because of the wavelength we use. And in response to this short light pulse, the parasite literally explodes," he said.

他說，“我們照射一個很短的光脈沖穿過皮膚。由于我們使用的波長原因，這種光脈沖只能被瘧疾原蟲吸收。這種寄生蟲因這種光脈沖而爆裂。”

The light pulse comes from a low-powered laser. It has less power than a laser point. It shines on a very tiny particle called the hemozoin which is produced by the malaria parasite once it has infected red blood cells. Hemozoin crystals are not found in red cells that are not infected with malaria.

這種光脈沖來自于低功率激光。它比激光點的能量還小。它照射在瘧疾原蟲感染紅細胞生成的瘧原蟲色素上。瘧原蟲色素晶體在未感染瘧疾的紅細胞中找不到。

As the crystals are heated by the laser, they create small bubbles inside infected cells. Doctor Lopotko says the bubbles exploded, and then make a sound that scientists can hear and count.

隨著這種晶體被激光加熱，它們會在感染細胞中產生小氣泡。Lopotko博士表示，該氣泡爆裂，然后發(fā)出一種科學家能夠聽到和統(tǒng)計的聲音。

"You can detect just a few infected cells in a million normal cells," he said.

他說，“我們在1百萬個正常細胞中只能檢測出少數(shù)感染的細胞。”

Doctor Lopotko says when researchers tested the device, it was never wrong. And it was able to find malaria infection early when treatment is very important.

Lopotko博士表示，當研究人員測試這種設備，它從未出過錯。它還能夠在治療非常重要的時期提前發(fā)現(xiàn)瘧疾感染，

The device can be carried and uses its batteries. It costs about 10,000 to 20,000 dollars to make. But Doctor Lopotko says considering the number of people it can test, that is not a lot of money.

這種設備便于攜帶，它使用自身的電池。制造這種設備需要花費大約1萬到2萬美元。但Lopotko博士表示，考慮到它可以檢測的人數(shù)，這沒多少錢。

"Each device will be capable to screen more than 200,000 people per year. So the cost of analysis for each patient will be less than 50 cents," he said.

他說，“每臺設備每年可以篩查超過20萬人，所以分析每位病人的費用將低于50美分。”

People without medical training can use the device to discover whether people are infected with malaria. Doctor Lopotko says the light beam used by the device is safe.

未經醫(yī)療培訓的人可以使用這種設備查明某人是否感染瘧疾。Lopotko博士表示，該設備使用的這種光脈沖是安全的。

Researchers will now test the device at a hospital in Houston that cares for patients infected with malaria. If those tests are successful, researchers will test the device throughout the world this year.

研究人員現(xiàn)在將在休斯敦一所治療瘧疾感染病人的醫(yī)院測試這種設備。如果這些測試成功，研究人員今年將在全球范圍測試這種設備。

An article describing the malaria detection device was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

一篇關于這種瘧疾檢測設備的文章發(fā)表在美國國家科學院期刊上。