2019年经济学人 医疗设备:心脏起搏器

 

For those whose hearts occasionally go off rhythm, pacemakers are, quite literally¹, life savers.

对那些心脏偶尔没了节奏的人而言，心脏起搏器，毫不夸张地说，就是救生员。

By providing a small electrical jolt² at the right moment, they can keep a heart working at the appropriate pace.

通过在恰当时候提供一小撮电流震动，它们可以让心脏以适当的速度保持工作。

Their main drawback is that they use batteries. Even the best of them eventually run out of energy, and replacing the batteries requires surgery.

它们主要的缺点就是要用电池。即便是最好的起搏器最终也会耗尽能量，而替换电池需要进行手术。

Since surgery is generally best avoided, the search has been on for long-lasting power sources.

由于最好是避免手术，所以已经在寻找持久的能源。

Various options have been explored, including, in the 1970s, plutonium.

已经开发出了各种选择方案，包括20世纪70年代的钚。

Nuclear-powered pacemakers have thankfully fallen out of fashion and today, devices with lithium batteries last between 5 and 15 years.

还好核能起搏器已经过时了，如今，锂电池设备可以使用5到15年。

Zhang Hao of the Second Military Medical University, in Shanghai,

上海第二军医大学的张浩

and Yang Bin³ of Shanghai Jiao Tong University sought a way of recharging a pacemaker's battery by scavenging energy from inside the body.

和上海交通大学的杨斌找到了从身体内提供能量给起搏器电池充电的方法。

As they report in the journal ACS Nano they have used the heart muscle itself to power a tiny generator⁴.

如他们在《ACS Nano》期刊中的报告所述，他们利用心脏肌肉为一个微型发电机充电。

Previous attempts to use cardiac muscle power to run pacemakers relied on piezoelectric materials.

之前使用心脏肌肉能量运行起搏器的尝试是依赖于压电材料。

These release electrons when deformed⁵, and can be attached to beating hearts so that they are slightly bent⁶ with each heart beat, generating electricity.

这些材料在变形后会释放电子，并且会吸附在跳动的心脏上，因此它们会随着心脏的跳动而弯曲，从而发电。

This has worked, but not well enough: the output has rarely exceeded five microwatts, while most pacemakers require at least ten.

这种方法起作用了，但还不够：发电量仅5微瓦特多一点，而大部分起搏器都需要至少10个微瓦特。

Dr Zhang and Dr Yang speculated that they could improve matters by arranging for their piezoelectric composites to be more dramatically deformed.

张浩和杨斌推测，他们可以通过让压电复合材料更加变形的方法改善这个问题。

First, they created a small capsule from a sheet of flexible polymer a tenth of a millimetre thick.

首先，他们用一种只有十分之一毫米厚的柔性聚合物制作了一颗小胶囊。

After compression, this capsule would return to its original shape.

这颗胶囊被压缩后可以恢复原形。

They then attached strips of piezoelectric composite to either side of the capsule,

然后，他们在胶囊的两边系上了几条压电复合材料

attached electrodes to these strips, and covered the strips with a protective layer of silicone.

压电复合材料中放入了电子，并用硅酮保护层盖住这些材料。

This layout meant that the strips were slightly bent from the beginning and required only a tiny, brief pressure to generate 15 microwatts.

这种设计意味着开始材料会轻微弯曲且仅需要微小短暂的压力就能产生15微瓦特的电。

The question was where to put the capsule, either in or on the heart, in order to get a similar effect.

问题是把这颗胶囊放在哪，要么是放在心脏里边或心脏上边才能获得类似效果。

A study of cardiac anatomy⁷ suggested the pericardial sac, at the organ's base, would be ideal.

心脏解剖研究表明心脏底部的围心囊是个理想的放置地点。

It would squeeze the capsule tightly as the heart contracted and still keep a firm grip on it when the heart was relaxed.

它可以随着心脏的收缩轻微挤压胶囊，且在心脏放松时，也能紧紧抓住。

To test this idea, the capsule's electrodes were attached to a commercial pacemaker that had had its battery removed,

为了测试这一想法，胶囊的电极被附在一个电池已被移除的商用起搏器上，

and surgically⁸ implanted into a 50kg Yorkshire pig. The capsule generated enough power for the pacemaker to function normally.

并将起搏器通过手术植入一只50公斤的约克夏猪体内。胶囊产生的能量足以让起搏器正常运转。

Whether such an arrangement will pass human trials remains⁹ to be seen.

这一装置能否通过人体试验还有待观察。

But if it does, the days of pacemakers that need battery replacements¹⁰, with all their associated surgery, may be numbered.

但是如果可以，需要联合手术替换起搏器电池的日子或许屈指可数。

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

3 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

4 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

5 deformed   

adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的

参考例句：

• He was born with a deformed right leg.他出生时右腿畸形。
• His body was deformed by leprosy.他的身体因为麻风病变形了。

6 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

7 anatomy   

n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织

参考例句：

• He found out a great deal about the anatomy of animals.在动物解剖学方面，他有过许多发现。
• The hurricane's anatomy was powerful and complex.对飓风的剖析是一项庞大而复杂的工作。

8 surgically   

adv. 外科手术上, 外科手术一般地

参考例句：

• Unsightly moles can be removed surgically. 不雅观的痣可以手术去除。
• To bypass this impediment an almost mature egg cell is removed surgically. 为了克服这一障碍，通过手术，取出一个差不多成熟的卵细胞。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网