VOA慢速英语2020 可穿戴设备可发现新冠肺炎早期迹象（在线收听）

Researchers are studying the effectiveness of wearable devices to identify early signs of disease, including COVID-19.

研究人员正在研究可穿戴设备识别包括新冠肺炎在内的疾病的早期迹象的有效性。

Many people already use devices such as the Fitbit or Apple Watch to measure their heart rate and other physical activity. Researchers are now studying whether this kind of technology could be used to watch for early warning signs of COVID-19.

很多人已经在使用Fitbit或者苹果手表等设备来测量他们的心率或其它身体活动。现在，研究人员开始研究这种技术是否可以用于监视新冠肺炎的早期预警信号。

One such device is being tested at West Virginia University in the United States. Researchers there reported in May that it can identify COVID-19 symptoms up to three days before people start to experience them.

一种这样的设备正在美国西弗吉尼亚大学进行测试。那里的研究人员在5月份报告称，它可能在人们开始感受到新冠肺炎症状三天之前就识别出来感染。

The researchers are performing tests with a device called the Oura Ring. The ring, worn on the finger, has been around for about two years. It was designed to monitor physical activity, sleep effectiveness and heart health.

研究人员采用了一种名为欧拉指环的设备进行测试。这种戴在手指上的指环已经存在了大约两年。它旨在监测身体活动、睡眠效果和心脏健康情况。

The ring sends the information it collects to an app, which rates the quality of the user's activities. The app uses artificial intelligence, AI, tools to predict the start of COVID-19 related symptoms, such as a high body temperature and breathing problems.

该指环将收集到的信息发送到应用程序，该程序会评估用户活动的质量。该应用程序使用人工智能工具来预测新冠肺炎相关症状的发作，例如发烧和呼吸困难。

The researchers said early tests had shown the system could "predict the onset of COVID-19 related symptoms three days in advance." They reported a success rate of over 90 percent.

研究人员表示，早期测试表明该系统可以提前三天预测新冠肺炎相关症状的发作。他们报告称成功率超过了90%。

Ali Rezai is the head of the university's Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. In a statement, Rezai said he thinks the system can help to protect health care and emergency workers dealing with COVID-19 and other fast-spreading diseases.

阿里·雷扎伊是该大学洛克菲勒神经科学研究所所长。雷扎伊在一份声明中表示，他认为该系统有助于保护应对新冠肺炎以及其它快速传播疾病的医护人员和急救人员。

Recently, the National Basketball Association, NBA, decided to supply the Oura Ring to its players in an attempt to identify possible signs of COVID-19 as early as possible.

NBA最近决定给球员提供欧拉指环，以尽早发现新冠肺炎的可能症状。

Another research project is taking place at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California. The DETECT study is examining data from devices worn by more than 30,000 volunteers. It aims to show whether wearables can predict the start of COVID-19 in people not yet showing symptoms.

另一项研究项目正在加州圣地亚哥的斯克里普斯研究所进行。这项监测研究正在核查来自3万多名志愿者所佩戴设备的数据。它旨在揭示可穿戴设备是否可以预测尚未出现新冠肺炎症状者的发病。

Scripps researchers already demonstrated the value of wearable technology in predicting viral infection. Their findings appeared earlier this year in the British publication The Lancet.

斯克里普斯研究所的的研究人员已经证实可穿戴设备在预测病毒感染中的价值。他们的研究结果发表在今年早些时候英国《柳叶刀》杂志上。

Results of both studies suggest the devices "have the potential to identify people who are pre-symptomatic but still infectious," said Jennifer Radin, the leader of the Scripps research. She spoke to the French Press Agency AFP.

斯克里普斯研究所这项研究的负责人詹妮弗·雷丁表示，两项研究的结果都表明该设备“有潜力识别出未出现症状但是仍具有感染能力的人士。”她接受了法新社的采访。

Scripps researchers say they hope to demonstrate that data from wearables may be more dependable and effective than temperature readings.

斯克里普斯研究所的研究人员表示，他们希望证实可穿戴设备的数据可能会比体温更可靠和有效。

"Forty percent of people who come down with COVID don't have a fever," Radin said. "This is something that can be used to screen people that's better than a temperature check."

雷丁表示：“40%的新冠病毒感染者没有发烧。这可以用于筛查人员，比测量体温更有效。”

One effective predictor can be a person's heart rate when he or she is at rest. Experts say this is because the resting heart rate usually remains unchanged before an infection.

人们处于静止状态时的心率是一项有效指标。专家表示，这是因为未感染前的静息心率通常会保持不变。

"We see these changes (in heart rate) four days before someone starts to develop a fever," Radin added. Heart rates are easily and effectively measured by most wearables.

雷丁还说：“我们发现有人在发烧前4天就出现了心率变化。”大多数可穿戴设备可以轻松有效地测量心率。

Eric Topol, director of the Scripps institute, told the AFP the idea of using wearables appears promising. He noted that more than 100 million Americans already have a smartwatch or other fitness monitoring device.

斯克里普斯研究所所长埃里克·托波尔对法新社表示，使用可穿戴设备的想法似乎很有希望。他指出，已经有超过1亿美国人拥有智能手表或其它健身检测设备。

While such devices can provide important data to researchers, Topol noted that getting good results requires persuading large numbers of people to take part in the studies.

尽管这类设备可以给研究人员提供重要数据，但是托波尔指出，要想取得好的结果，就必须说服大量人参与研究。

Researchers from California's Stanford University, in cooperation with Scripps, launched research in April on the use of wearables to detect COVID-19.

加州斯坦福大学的研究人员与斯克里普斯研究所展开合作，于4月份启动了使用可穿戴设备检测新冠肺炎的研究。

"Smartwatches and other wearables make many, many measurements per day...which is what makes them such powerful monitoring devices," said Michael Snyder. He heads the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford's School of Medicine.

迈克尔·斯奈德表示：“智能手表和其它可穿戴设备每天都要进行很多次检测，这就是使得它们成为如此强大的监测设备的原因。”他是斯坦福大学医学院基因组学和个性化医学中心的负责人。

Snyder added that AI-powered devices can be useful in helping individuals identify signs of a serious disorder that they may not detect themselves. Such technology "could help people determine if they should stay home in case their body is fighting off an infection," he said.

斯奈德补充说，人工智能驱动设备在帮助个人识别出可能无法自我诊断的严重疾病迹象方面很有效果。他说，这种技术可以帮助人们确定在身体对抗感染时是否应该待在家里。

I'm Bryan Lynn.

我是布莱恩·琳恩。