VOA慢速英语2015 经批准外科医用胶水可用于人体内部

Surgical¹ Glue Approved for Use Inside the Body 经批准外科医用胶水可用于人体内部

Medical adhesive² products are becoming more common. Doctors use medical adhesives³ to help reconnect damaged tissue. They are able to stick fast and hold the tissue together. But until recently, no product had been approved for use inside the human body.

Earlier this year, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved a kind of biodegradable glue for use in surgical operations. The product, called TissueGlu, breaks down over time.

Eric Beckman teaches engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. He says TissuGlu was created by accident.

Around 2001, Mr. Beckman and a dental surgeon at the university were working on a problem. They had set out to design a tissue regeneration membrane⁴ in a laboratory. In the process, they accidentally discovered a sticky, glue-like substance.

“The substance at the time in the lab was just, it was a science project. It was a laboratory material. TissueGlu is orders of magnitude more sophisticated.”

TissuGlu is a chemical compound used to make plastic. It is non-toxic, meaning it is not harmful to humans. Doctors can now use it to connect big pieces of skin and tissue inside the body.

Eric Beckman says the university researchers recognized the possibility of developing and marketing⁵ TissueGlu. They knew that medical adhesives and liquid bandages were becoming increasingly popular. But nothing like that existed for use inside the body.

“Step one was to find a business team that could actually help us turn what was essentially⁶ a technology into a real product and then get it through the regulatory pathway.”

In 2006, Professor Beckman temporarily left the University of Pittsburgh to set up a business, called Cohera Medical. One of the company’s first employees was scientist Dottie Clower. She had worked in the Office of Enterprise Development at the University of Pittsburgh. She had advised Mr. Beckman about making his technology available to others. Now, she was given the responsibility of product development.

“I think that one of the things that made this an attractive business opportunity was in some ways the simplicity⁷ of the idea… This was simply a glue that you could use inside the body and everyone understood that. So from the perspective of being able to enroll⁸ investors⁹ in supporting the company, enroll doctors in being enthusiastic about this very new idea… This was something that nobody had in their tool kit¹⁰ and we had an opportunity to be the first.”

Cohera Medical raised $75 million to bring TissueGlu to market. Tests showed it was strong, safe and effective. Surgeons use a hand-held device to control the even release of glue.

Professor Beckman says the Food and Drug Administration approved the glue for connecting large skin flaps in an operation that removes extra fat and skin. He says the product also helps reduce fluid buildup by holding tissues close together.

The new glue also means fewer medical problems and a quicker recovery for the patient. In Europe, TissueGlu has been approved for use in breast cancer and lymph node dissection¹¹ surgeries.

Dottie Clower says this is an exciting time for the company.

“Now we have the opportunity to engage with the market, to talk with the doctors, to begin to really launch our sales and marketing effort for this great new product.”

She says what this means is that they can begin to market products that can make a difference in people’s lives.

Words in this Story

adhesive – n. a sticky substance; a product that holds two objects together; adj. causing objects to stick together

biodegradable – adj. being slowly broken down or destroyed by natural processes over time

membrane – n. an extremely thin layer of tissue

bandage(s) – n. a covering that protects part of the body

1 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。

2 adhesive   

n.粘合剂；adj.可粘着的，粘性的

参考例句：

• You'll need a strong adhesive to mend that chair. 你需要一种粘性很强的东西来修理那把椅子。
• Would you give me an adhesive stamp?请给我一枚带胶邮票好吗？

3 adhesives   

黏合剂( adhesive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These include dyes, adhesives, solvents, detergents, metals, and other foreign materials. 其中包括染料，粘合剂，溶剂，洗涤剂、金属等外界物质。
• Preparation, properties and kinds of polyurethane adhesives were described. 综述了聚氨酯胶粘剂的合成、特性和种类。

4 membrane   

n.薄膜，膜皮，羊皮纸

参考例句：

• A vibrating membrane in the ear helps to convey sounds to the brain.耳膜的振动帮助声音传送到大脑。
• A plastic membrane serves as selective diffusion barrier.一层塑料薄膜起着选择性渗透屏障的作用。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

8 enroll   

v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol

参考例句：

• I should like to enroll all my children in the swimming class.我愿意让我的孩子们都参加游泳班。
• They enroll him as a member of the club.他们吸收他为俱乐部会员。

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

11 dissection   

n.分析；解剖

参考例句：

• A dissection of your argument shows several inconsistencies.对你论点作仔细分析后发现一些前后矛盾之处。
• Researchers need a growing supply of corpses for dissection.研究人员需要更多的供解剖用的尸体。