VOA慢速英语2015 3-D打印设备可以帮助罕见呼吸障碍儿童呼吸

3-D Printed Device Helps Children with Rare Breathing Disorder¹ 3-D打印设备可以帮助罕见呼吸障碍儿童呼吸

You may have heard about a process called 3-D printing. It is where a machine creates a three-dimensional object -- one with height, width and depth. The machine uses plastic or a similar material to produce the object. Usually, the material is added one layer at a time, with the layering process repeated again and again until the product is ready.

Now researchers in the United States have developed what they call a 4-D medical device. They say the device is designed for very young patients, and changes as their bodies grow.

The researchers are with the University of Michigan in Anna Arbor². They worked with children who have a rare condition called tracheobronchomalacia, or TCM. The disease weakens the walls of the airway³. The breathing passage can collapse⁴, cutting off oxygen to the children.

One of the researchers is Glenn Green. He told reporters that TBM is a rare, but very serious breathing disorder. He said the three children in this study had been in an intensive care unit at a hospital for months. Doctor Green said the three patients were given very strong drugs.

“During that time, to stay alive, they required heavy sedation, narcotics⁵ and even paralytics. They all had tracheostomies, where a breathing tube was placed through their necks, and were on artificial ventilators. There is no cure, and life expectancies⁶ for each of these children were grim.”

Patients with TBM have been treated with a splint, a support that surrounds the airway and protects it. The splint worked just like those often used to support a broken arm. But young children grow quickly. As a result, the child’s airway would soon outgrow⁷ most splints.

The new 3-D printed splint is designed to expand over time. Each one is specially⁸ designed and made for each patient.

Over time, the airway becomes strong enough to resist collapsing⁹. Several years after the operation, the 3-D splint is slowly removed through natural processes.

Two of the children in the study were said to be much improved. A third suffered no problems, but still needs ventilating equipment to breathe, perhaps because of other issues.

Doctor Green says 3-D printing can help doctors and patients alike.

“We actually printed (a replica¹⁰ of) the patient’s airway, the trachea and bronchi, beforehand. By printing this ahead of time, then we were able to practice the operation before we actually incised the child just to go in and save lives.”

Researchers reported the findings in the journal Science Transitional Medicine. Megan Frisk works for the journal. She said the findings…

“…represent not only a new surgical¹¹ option for patients suffering from obstructive airway disease, but also showing a promise for 4-D printed materials in medicine.”

The researchers say they are planning a larger study of this device in children with TBM.

Words in this Story

dimensional – adj., related to a measurement like length, width or depth

layer – n. something that is spread over an area; a piece of material or other substance lying on top of something else.

intensive care – n. an area of a hospital where special medical equipment and services are provided

splint – n. a support that is used to hold a body part in place while it heals.

1 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

2 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。

3 airway   

n.空中航线，通风口

参考例句：

• Lay them on their side and ensure the airway is unobstructed.让他们侧躺着，并确保呼吸道畅通。
• There is a purple airway in London Airport.伦敦机场里有一条皇家专用飞机跑道。

4 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

5 narcotics   

n.麻醉药( narcotic的名词复数 )；毒品；毒

参考例句：

• The use of narcotics by teenagers is a problem in many countries. 青少年服用麻醉药在许多国家中都是一个问题。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Police shook down the club, looking for narcotics. 警方彻底搜查了这个俱乐部，寻找麻醉品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 expectancies   

期待，期望( expectancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each of us came with his own expectancies. 我们每个人都有自己的希望。
• In fact, modern lifestyles are actually exacerbating the gap between male and female life expectancies. 实际上，现代生活方式确实加大了男女寿命差别的鸿沟。

7 outgrow   

vt.长大得使…不再适用；成长得不再要

参考例句：

• The little girl will outgrow her fear of pet animals.小女孩慢慢长大后就不会在怕宠物了。
• Children who walk in their sleep usually outgrow the habit.梦游的孩子通常在长大后这个习惯自然消失。

8 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

9 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

10 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

11 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。