VOA标准英语2015--Tiny Camera Sees Inside Blood Vessels

Tiny Camera Sees Inside Blood Vessels²

Ahead of any surgical³ procedure, doctors try to learn as much as possible about the state of the organs they plan to operate on.  A new camera developed in the Netherlands can now make that easier - giving surgeons an incredibly detailed⁴ look inside blood vessels, all the way to the patient’s heart.  

Blockages⁶ in coronary arteries⁷, caused by the buildup of plaque⁸, are the main cause of heart attacks.  In most cases, doctors treat the problem by widening the artery⁹ with a mechanical device called a stent, inserted at the end of a long thin wire-like catheter.

But within a year, about 10 percent of patients have to return for another procedure, says cardiologist Evelyn Reger.

“Roughly half of the patients have to come back because we did not do an excellent job in the blockage⁵ that is causing the heart attack, and the other half of the patients have to come back because we overlook additional lesions, problems that are present in the artery," she said.

This situation could improve considerably¹⁰ with a new camera that provides a clearer, more detailed view from inside arteries, developed at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Currently, to take different images through the catheter, surgeons control the rotation¹¹ of the catheter's camera from outside the body. The new camera has its own tiny electrical motor.

Professor Ton van der Steen is the head of Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Erasmus Medical Center.

“With this system you have rotation where exactly needs to be, only in the tip. So you have a micro-motor in the tip that can rotate and that's why it can rotate so fast and so accurately," said van der Steen.

Researchers are still experimenting on lab animals, but the results are stunning¹².

While catheter cameras now in use take only about 100 images per second, too slow not to be distorted by the movement of the heart, the new camera can take 2,500 images in-between two heartbeats.

Its one millimeter-thick motor rotates a mirror 5600 times per second, while a fast-pulsing laser lights up the environment, allowing the camera to take sharp pictures of the artery wall.

“Suddenly we get a view on a blood vessel¹ like we just know from the text book. And we can see that in our living patients at the very moment when we have to do the operation," said Reger.

Scientists say they are now trying to build an even smaller motor, only half a millimeter thick.

The new catheter camera was presented at the Optics in Cardiology symposium¹³ in Rotterdam on March 11, but researchers say it will take up to three years before they start with trials on humans.

1 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。

2 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》

3 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。

4 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

5 blockage   

n.障碍物；封锁

参考例句：

• The logical treatment is to remove this blockage.合理的治疗方法就是清除堵塞物。
• If the blockage worked,they could retreat with dignity.如果封锁发生作用，他们可以体面地撤退。

6 blockages   

n.堵塞物( blockage的名词复数 )；堵塞，阻塞

参考例句：

• The storms could increase the risks posed by river blockages. 暴风雨会增加因河道堵塞所造成的危险。 来自互联网
• An angiogram shows the location and severity of blockages in blood vessels. 冠状动脉造影能够显示血管内的阻塞位置以及阻塞的严重程度。 来自互联网

7 arteries   

n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

9 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。

10 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

11 rotation   

n.旋转；循环，轮流

参考例句：

• Crop rotation helps prevent soil erosion.农作物轮作有助于防止水土流失。
• The workers in this workshop do day and night shifts in weekly rotation.这个车间的工人上白班和上夜班每周轮换一次。

12 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

13 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。