VOA慢速英语2014 电子游戏技术挽救生命

 

Video Game Technology to Save Lives 电子游戏技术挽救生命

The new imaging technology is called Plato’s CAVE.

Dr. Brian Butler is a cancer specialist at Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas.  He is also the lead creator of CAVE.

“Computer engineers and video gamers really propelled this type of technology into a possibility.”

Complex images??

CAVE turns information from other medical imaging machines -- such as CT, MRI and PET scanners – into complex pictures of the human body.

CAVE images look like video game graphics¹: they appear almost real. And, doctors can play with CAVE images. They can touch the video screen to make the images turn, grow, shrink or change direction.

Precision??

Mas Takashima is a doctor who uses Plato’s CAVE. He says the technology is important because it helps doctors imagine operations in advance.

“When you have the data so you can then visualize² exactly what's going on, it definitely decreases the stress level or the anxiety level of just wondering, 'oh, is there a possibility that that blood vessel³ might be, you know, wrapped around this tumor⁴?'”

Recently, doctors used CAVE technology to plan a difficult operation. Their patient had accidentally shot himself with an arrow. The doctors could see where the arrow had entered the man’s head. They also could see how close it was to critical blood vessels⁵.

Medical images are a relatively⁶ new field. But CAVE is an important development. And it is just the beginning, experts say. As technology changes, medical images will only improve.

1 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

2 visualize   

vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想

参考例句：

• I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人，但他的样子我想不起来了。
• She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。

3 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

4 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。