VOA慢速英语2021--利用瘫痪者的脑电波来帮助他交流的装置

Researchers say they have used brain waves of a paralyzed man who cannot speak to produce words from his thoughts onto a computer.

A team led by Dr. Edward Chang at the University of California, San Francisco, carried out the experiment. The study results were published July 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Most of us take for granted how easily we communicate through speech," Chang told The Associated Press. "It's exciting to think we're at the very beginning of a new chapter, a new field" to ease the difficulties of patients who lost that ability.

The researchers admit that such communication methods for paralysis¹ victims will require years of additional research. But, they say the new study marks an important step forward.

Today, paralysis victims who cannot speak or write have very limited ways of communicating. For example, the man in the experiment used a pointer attached to a hat that lets him move his head to touch words or letters on a screen. Other devices can pick up a person's eye movements. But such methods are slow and a very limited replacement² for speech.

Using brain signals to work around disabilities is currently a hot field of study. In recent years, experiments with mind-controlled prosthetics have permitted paralyzed individuals to shake hands with someone or take a drink using a robotic arm. The process involves people imagining movements and those brain signals are sent through a computer to the prosthetic.

Chang's team built their experiment on earlier work. They developed a method called "speech neuroprosthetic." The process uses brain waves that normally control the vocal³ tract⁴, or voice system. This includes the small muscle movements of the lips, jaw⁵, tongue and larynx that form each consonant⁶ and vowel⁷.

The person who volunteered to test the device was a man in his late 30s. He suffered a brain-stem stroke 15 years ago that caused widespread paralysis and left him unable to speak.

The researchers implanted electrodes on the surface of the man's brain, over the area that controls speech. A computer observed the patterns when he attempted to say common words such as "water" or "good." Over time, the computer became able to differentiate⁸ between 50 words that could form more than 1,000 sentences.

Repeatedly given questions such as "How are you today?" or "Are you thirsty," the device enabled the man to answer "I am very good" or "No, I am not thirsty." The words were not voiced, but were turned into text on the computer.

It takes about three to four seconds for a word to appear after the man tries to say it, said the study's lead writer, David Moses. He is an engineer in Chang's laboratory. While that rate is not nearly as fast as speaking, it is quicker than current methods.

In an opinion article published with the study, Harvard brain doctors Leigh Hochberg and Sydney Cash called the work a "pioneering demonstration⁹."

The two doctors said the technology might one day help people with injuries, strokes or diseases like Lou Gehrig's. People with such diseases have brains that "prepare messages for delivery, but those messages are trapped," they wrote.

The researchers say their next steps will include seeking ways to improve the device's speed, correctness and vocabulary size. They also plan to one day develop a computer-produced voice that could replace text on a computer.

Words in This Story

paralyzed – adj. unable to move or feel a part of the body

take for granted – phr. To value something too lightly

prosthetic – n. an artificial device that replaces a missing or injured part of the body

stroke – n. a sudden problem in the brain that changes the flow of blood and makes you unable to move part of your body

pattern – n. a particular way that something is often done or repeated

pioneer – n. a person who helps create or develop new ideas, methods

deliver – v. to carry or send from one place to another

1 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

2 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

3 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

4 tract   

n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林)

参考例句：

• He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
• He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。

5 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

6 consonant   

n.辅音；adj.[音]符合的

参考例句：

• The quality of this suit isn't quite consonant with its price.这套衣服的质量和价钱不相称。
• These are common consonant clusters at the beginning of words.这些单词的开头有相同辅音组合。

7 vowel   

n.元音；元音字母

参考例句：

• A long vowel is a long sound as in the word"shoe ".长元音即如“shoe” 一词中的长音。
• The vowel in words like 'my' and 'thigh' is not very difficult.单词my和thigh中的元音并不难发。

8 differentiate   

vi.(between)区分；vt.区别；使不同

参考例句：

• You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.你可以凭借烟囱形状的不同来区分这两幢房子。
• He never learned to differentiate between good and evil.他从未学会分辨善恶。

9 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。