2022年经济学人 焊接伤口(2)（在线收听）

Existing attempts at wound-soldering rely on thermal imaging to measure temperature.

现有的伤口焊接尝试依赖于热成像来测量温度。

But that only measures the temperature at the surface of the solder, rather than throughout the material.

但这只测量了焊料表面的温度，而不是整个材料的温度。

Mr Cipolato and Inge Herrmann, a chemical engineer at eth, hope their improved paste can get around such problems.

Cipolato先生和ETH的化学工程师Inge Herrmann希望他们改进后的糊状物可以避免这样的问题。

It is made up of two kinds of nanoparticles, specks of material of only about 20-billionths of a metre across.

它由两种纳米颗粒组成，它们是直径仅为20亿分之一米的小颗粒。

Between them, these help direct the energy of the laser to the places it should be, and help doctors gauge the conditions in the paste.

它们帮助引导激光的能量到它应该在的地方，并帮助医生衡量糊状物中的条件。

The first set of particles are made of titanium nitrate.

第一组颗粒是由硝酸钛制成的。

They eagerly absorb photons of red or near infrared light, precisely the colours that most easily penetrate living tissue, and release the energy as heat to their surroundings.

它们快速地吸收红光或近红外线的光子，正是最容易穿透活组织的颜色，并将能量以热的形式释放到周围。

That efficient absorption means the paste can be heated by a relatively weak laser beam, which helps protect the surrounding tissues.

这种高效的吸收意味着这种糊状物可以被相对较弱的激光加热，这有助于保护周围的组织。

Using such tiny particles is in itself not new.

使用如此微小的颗粒本身并不是什么新鲜事。

But until recently most researchers used tiny rods of gold, which are expensive.

但直到最近，大多数研究人员使用的都是价格昂贵的微小金条。

Nanoparticles of titanium nitrate, on the other hand, are easily and cheaply produced by spraying the right mix of precursor chemicals into a flame.

另一方面，通过向火焰中喷洒合适的前体化学物质混合物，可以轻松生产出硝酸钛纳米颗粒，成本也很低。

The second set of particles are a new development in the soldering world.

第二组颗粒是焊接界的新发展。

They are specks of a material which fluoresces.

它们是一种会发出荧光的物质的斑点。

In other words, it absorbs the laser light, but immediately re-emits the energy as light again, at a few very specific wavelengths.

换句话说，它吸收了激光，但立即将能量以光的形式重新发射出来，只是波长非常特定。

Two of these wavelengths are also in the infrared and red colour range.

其中两种波长也在红外和红色范围内。

That allows some of the re-emitted light to emerge from the paste to where it can be analysed by an external instrument called a spectrometer.

这使得一些重新发射的光可以从糊状物中显现出来，并被一种叫做分光仪的外部仪器分析。

By precisely measuring the difference between the two wavelengths, the temperature of particles that are emitting it -- and thus of the paste as a whole -- can be worked out.

通过精确地测量这两种波长之间的差值，可以计算出发射它的粒子的温度--从而计算出整个糊状物的温度。

Thus far, the researchers have tested the technique only on pieces of pig intestine that they obtained from a slaughterhouse.

到目前为止，研究人员只在他们从屠宰场获得的猪肠道片段上测试了这项技术。

Soldering a cut is done in a matter of minutes.

焊接切口只需要几分钟。

Similar “ex vivo” tests of the strength and permeability of the bond will also be needed for human tissue, followed by clinical tests on actual pigs and, eventually, humans.

人体组织也需要进行类似的结合强度和渗透性的“体外”测试，然后在猪身上进行临床测试，最终在人类身上进行测试。

But the researchers are optimistic.

但研究人员对此持乐观态度。

At the conference, they were cagey about exactly what the fluorescing particles are made of.

在会议上，他们对荧光粒子的确切成分守口如瓶。

They are applying for a patent, which could be quite valuable if the tools at the ready in a doctor’s office one day include a laser soldering gun.

他们正在申请一项专利，如果有一天医生办公室里准备好的工具包括一把激光焊接枪，这项专利将会非常有价值。