VOA慢速英语2010年-Health Report - Reused Pacemakers May

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

A pacemaker is a small device that doctors place in people with an abnormal heartbeat. If a heart beats too slowly, the pacemaker will use electrical signals to help set a normal rate. Some devices include a defibrillator, which gives a shock if the heart beats too fast.

Pacemakers may be permanent or temporary. But one thing is sure. Developing countries need more of them as more people get heart disease.

A big problem, however, is the cost. Buying and implanting a pacemaker costs from five thousand to fifteen thousand dollars.

But doctors at the University of Michigan think they know a way to lower that cost. The idea is to reuse pacemakers.

Heart doctor Timir Baman estimates that more than one million people worldwide need pacemakers each year. He says reusing a pacemaker is an ethical¹ way to provide health care to those who have no other way to get one.

TIMIR BAMAN: "A country such as Bangladesh or India, they average less than eight new implants² per million. In the United States, we average seven hundred fifty-two new implants per million."

He got the idea a few years ago. One of his patients asked if someone might be given her pacemaker for reuse after she died.

But are used pacemakers safe? Doctor Baman studied medical reports about the safety of pacemakers that were being reused in small studies.

TIMIR BAMAN: "We found that there's no real difference in device infection or device malfunction³ when you compare it to new pacemaker implantation."

Funeral directors normally remove pacemakers when preparing bodies for cremation⁴. Pacemakers can explode if they are burned. So Doctor Baman asked funeral directors in Michigan to send the pacemakers to him.

He and other researchers at the University of Michigan Medical Center tested the used pacemakers. They cleaned and disinfected the ones in good working order. Then they sent them to doctors in the Philippines, Vietnam and Ghana.

The doctors successfully implanted the used pacemakers in twelve patients. The findings were recently presented at a conference in Washington of the American Heart Association.

Now, Timir Baman has asked the United States Food and Drug Administration for approval to do a larger test. He says -- speaking by Skype from his office in Ann Arbor⁵, Michigan -- that he is hopeful the program will work.

TIMIR BAMAN: "If we show that this is safe, other academic centers in the United States as well as in Europe can then form their own pacemaker reutilization programs and really help out countries in Africa, really help out countries in Asia, who really have no other access to these type of devices."

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report, with reporting by Philip Graitcer. You can find and comment on our reports at voaspecialenglish.com or on Facebook or Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember.
 

1 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

2 implants   

n.（植入身体中的）移植物( implant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters. 激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Perhaps the most far-reaching project is an initiative called Living Implants From Engineering (LIFE). 也许最具深远意义的项目，是刚刚启动的建造活体移植工程 (LIFE)。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

3 malfunction   

vi.发生功能故障，发生故障，显示机能失常

参考例句：

• There must have been a computer malfunction.一定是出了电脑故障。
• Results have been delayed owing to a malfunction in the computer.由于电脑发生故障，计算结果推迟了。

4 cremation   

n.火葬，火化

参考例句：

• Cremation is more common than burial in some countries. 在一些国家，火葬比土葬普遍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Garbage cremation can greatly reduce the occupancy of land. 垃圾焚烧可以大大减少占用土地。 来自互联网

5 arbor   

n.凉亭；树木

参考例句：

• They sat in the arbor and chatted over tea.他们坐在凉亭里，边喝茶边聊天。
• You may have heard of Arbor Day at school.你可能在学校里听过植树节。