科技动态:用鼻子驾驭轮椅,发电邮

Dr. Anton Plotkin shows off technology he says could help quadriplegic stay mobile. The wheelchair is controlled by Anton's nostrils¹ and lungs. As he breathes in and out, his motorized chair moves in any direction he chooses.

Anton Plotkin向我们展示了这项可以让瘫痪病人自由移动的新技术。可以想象吗，这辆轮椅受控于Anton的鼻子和肺。每当他吸气呼气，他就能自由控制轮椅去往不同的方向。

The technology was developed in Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science. Using chips similar to those designed to deliver oxygen to patients, the system measures changes in nasal pressure. That pressure generates electrical signals which are passed to a computer via a USB connection. With a simple sniff², patients can move a cursor and tell the computer what they want to do.

这项技术由以色列的魏茨曼科学研究所发明。原理相当于自动输氧机，系统探测鼻内的压力，并根据压力大小来生成电子信号通过USB接口输入电脑。如此，病人通过吸气就能移动光标，以告诉计算机他们要做什么。

Professor Noam Sobel is among the team of researchers behind the sniff controlled wheelchair.

Noam Sobel教授是鼻控轮椅研究小组的一员。

"You can sniff in or out, or look at sniff onset³ or offset⁴. And you have analog⁵ information because you can sniff either with more vigor⁶ or with less vigor, or for longer or shorter duration. Now, give me digital analog information I can fly a plane. I can do anything. So, from that the path is short to building a device that uses sniffs⁷ to write text, uses sniffs to drive a wheelchair, uses sniffs to do whatever you want."

“你可以通过呼吸来控制轮椅，你可以通过启动或暂停呼吸，吸气的强弱，吸气呼气的长短来控制轮椅。现在只要有鼻子传回的信号，你都可以用鼻子开飞机，或者做任何事。因此，用鼻子可做的事情就多了，也更简单了，比如用鼻子写短信，用鼻子遥控轮椅，或者用鼻子做任何事。”

The technology is also being used to help stroke patients and others with severe disabilities like locked-in syndrome⁸ to communicate. The breath controlled device uses predictive text methods and has helped many paralyzed people write and send email after years of communication limbo⁹. Scientists say that the technology could be a breath of fresh air for patients.

这项技术同样应用于帮助中风病人和其他不能自理的病人，如植物人。这种呼吸控制系统使用智能文本输入法，这一系统已经帮助了许多孤立的瘫痪病人写并发送电子邮件。科学家们称这项技术很可能给重症病人带来福音。

"The key aspect of this whole story is that, we found that the ability to control the device is very highly conserved¹⁰ in a very severe disability. So people who are very severely¹¹ injured, who are the locked-in, quadriplegic or really in a state where they can actually control nothing can still control this device. So it provides an opening for potential attraction with the world which is quite critical in this situation.”

“这项技术的关键就在于，即使是十分重症的残疾病人也能轻松控制它。因此，不管是重伤的病人，还是瘫痪，不能动的病人或是其他什么都不能做的病人都能使用这一系统。它向世界上所有有困难的人们展示了一项潜在的解决方案。”

So far, the device has been tested on more than a dozen people at the institute. But researchers want to make the technology more readily available, so that more patients could have the opportunity to express themselves.

目前，这项技术在实验室已成功实验了几十人。但技术人员还在降低成本，以使得更多的病人能够应用到这项技术，走出残败身体的牢笼。

quadriplegic n. adj. 四肢瘫痪

nasal a. 鼻的

locked-in syndrome is a condition in which a patient is aware and awake but cannot move or communicate due to complete paralysis¹² of nearly all voluntary muscles in the body except for the eyes.

limbo n. 地狱

1 nostrils   

鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
• The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。

2 sniff   

vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视

参考例句：

• The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
• When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候，他们会彼此嗅一会儿。

3 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

4 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

5 analog   

n.类似物，模拟

参考例句：

• The analog signal contains high-frequency video information,which helps make up the picture.模拟信号包括有助于构成图像的高频视频信息。
• The analog computer measures continuously,without proceeding step by step.模拟计算机不是一步一步地进行，而是连续地进行量度。

6 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

7 sniffs   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的第三人称单数 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When a dog smells food, he usually sniffs. 狗闻到食物时常吸鼻子。 来自辞典例句
• I-It's a difficult time [ Sniffs ] with my husband. 最近[哭泣]和我丈夫出了点问题。 来自电影对白

8 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

9 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

10 conserved   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He conserved his energy for the game. 他为比赛而养精蓄锐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Under these conditions, the total mechanical energy remains constant, or is conserved. 在这种条件下，总机械能保持不变或机械能保存。 来自辞典例句

11 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

12 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。