Wearable tech aids stroke patients 可穿戴“電子皮膚”助中風病人康復

本集內容

學習要點

有關“health 健康”的詞匯

邊看邊答

What was the challenge for the scientists when creating the device which monitors the patient’s recovery?

文字稿

Technology you can wear. Skin displays developed by Japanese researchers that show your vital signs. It’s to put on patients, so that doctors can monitor their progress.

The displays are among a new wave of wearable electronics finding medical applications.

In the US, Lizzy McAninch had a stroketwo years ago. She couldn’t move or speak or swallow for several weeks. Lizzy is testing out wearable sensors that might speed her recovery.

They send information wirelessly to the medical team. The doctors here can continuously monitor Lizzy, wherever she goes using these devices. They can follow her muscle activity, her heart rate, even her speech – track whether she’s showing signs of improvement.

Kristen Hohl, Physiotherapist
Do we see that they’re walking more at home or do we see that they’re engaging in conversations? Those are the types of things I can get feedback from the sensors, where currently I only have their report.

The challenge for the scientists was to pack a lot of electronics into a small flexible material.

Professor John Rogers, Northwestern University (Chicago, US)
It’s almost mechanically sort of imperceptible to the patient who’s wearing the device. And you can embed all sorts of advanced sensor functionality, microprocessor, computing capability, radios, power supplies, into this kind of very unusual platform, and that’s the uniqueness of what we do.

By the end of this year, the team will have more information than anyone has ever had before about recovery from stroke. They believe that their study could transform the way patients are treated in the future.

可以穿在身上的技術。由日本研究者們開發的“電子皮膚”可以顯示你的生命體征。這種技術給病人佩戴後，可以幫助醫生監測他們的體況。

這項智能顯示技術與其它眾多可佩戴電子產品掀起瞭可佩戴技術尋找醫學用途的新風潮。

在美國，利齊·麥卡寧奇兩年前患瞭中風。她曾有數周不能動，不能說話，也不能吞咽。利齊正在測試這種可能加快她的康復的可穿戴傳感器。

這些傳感器把收集到的信息通過無線傳輸發送給醫護人員。醫生可以不間斷地對利齊進行監測，不論她走到哪裡，隻要她戴著這個設備。醫生可以追蹤監測她的肌肉活動性，她的心率，甚至她的說話能力，從而跟進判斷她是否有好轉的跡象。

克裡斯汀·霍爾 理療醫師
“我們能看到他們在傢中行走的更多，或看到他們參與到各種對話中瞭嗎？這就是我可以從傳感器得到的信息，而目前我隻有他們的報告。”

對於科學傢們的挑戰則是把大量的電子設備聚集放入一種輕薄靈活的材料中去。

約翰·羅傑斯教授 西北大學（美國芝加哥）
“這個東西對於穿戴它的病人來說是幾乎難以察覺的。而且你還可以將多種先進的傳感器的功能，微處理器，計算能力，無線電收發設備和電源嵌入這個不尋常的技術平臺中，這也正是我們做的獨一無二的地方。”

到今年年底，這組開發人員將收集到比以往任何時候都多的關於中風康復的數據。他們相信這個研究將徹底改變未來病人接受治療的方式。

詞匯

vital signs
生命跡象，生命體征

monitor (their) progress
監測（他們的）體況

speed (her) recovery
加快（她的）康復

medical team
醫療小組，醫護人員

heart rate
心率

你知道嗎？

The best way to help prevent a stroke is to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and avoid smoking and drinking too much alcohol, according to the UK National Health Service.

英國國傢醫療服務體系說，預防中風最好的方式是健康飲食，定期鍛煉，不吸煙和不過量飲酒。