VOA慢速英语：新PET扫描仪能够观察人体内部结构

Scientists are developing a medical device that could tell them more about the human body, and help them develop more-effective treatments for cancer, heart disease and brain disorders.

科学家们正在研发一种医疗装置，它可以告诉他们更多关于人体的信息并帮助他们制定更有效的关于癌症、心脏疾病与脑部疾病的治疗方法。

PET scanners displays areas of the body in different colors to show disease and conditions. A new PET scanner shows the entire body at once, rather just its parts, like the brain.

It would be the world's first full-body PET scanner. PET stands for Positron Emission Tomography. PET scanners create 3-D images of what is happening in the body.

它将是世界上第一个全身PET扫描仪。PET表示正电子放射断层摄影术。PET扫描仪可以实现3-D成像，显示出你的身体状况。

Researchers are calling the large scanner that they are developing Explorer. It will give medical workers images of what is happening in the entire human body that have never been seen before. PET scanners now give doctors images of only parts of the body.

研究人员呼吁使用他们正在研发的 Explorer大型扫面仪。它会向医务工作者提供图片，显示出以前从未见过的人类全身身体状况，PET扫描仪目前只能向医生提供部分身体部位的图像。

The U.S. National Institutes of Health gave a research team at the University of California at Davis $15.5 million to build the scanner.

美国国立卫生研究院向加州大学戴维斯分校的一个研究团队提供1550万美元用以创建该大型扫描仪。

Ramsey Badawi is a professor of radiology at UC Davis. He says the scanner will give researchers new information about how human organs work together.

拉姆齐巴达维是加州大学戴维斯分校放射科的教授。他说，扫描仪将会给研究人员提供关于人体器官如何协同工作的新信息。

"We're a system of organs and all the organs interact with each other. And we've never really been able to interrogate that with imaging before, and now we're going to be able to look at that." Visit the website www.chinavoa.com to get more information!

“我们是由一个器官系统组成并且所有的器官之间彼此相互作用。以前，我们从未真正地使用图像来检查这些器官。但现在我们可以实现这一点。”

X-rays and MRIs give images of bones and organs. PET scans show doctors how organs and tissues are working on a molecular level. These images help them identify and follow diseases. The new scanner will help them do that even better.

X射线和核磁共振成像可以显示骨骼和器官的图像。 PET扫描可以向医生提供在分子层面器官组织之间是如何相互运作的。这些图像有助于他们辨别与追踪疾病。新的扫描仪将帮助他们做的更好。

Simon Cherry is a professor of biomedical engineering at UC Davis. He says the PET scans can show the progress of both disease and medical treatments.

西蒙是加州大学戴维斯分校生物医学工程学教授。他表示PET扫描可以显示疾病与医疗的进程。

"With PET scans we're looking at function. We're actually able to say something about what the cells in the body are doing -- how actively they're metabolizing, for example, or how quickly they're dividing. Taking a cancer example, that could be tremendously powerful to see if, when you give a drug, whether that shuts down the metabolism of the tumor."

“对于PET扫描，我们着眼于功能。我们现在确实可以了解体内细胞状况——如它们是如何新陈代谢的，或者它们分裂有多迅速。以癌症为例，当你用药时，观察到这些药物是否可以停止肿瘤代谢是非常强大的功能。”

PET scans use a radioactive substance to find tumors. Professor Cherry says the Explorer uses a much lower amount of radiation than current PET tests, and creates images more quickly.

PET扫描使用放射性物质来发现肿瘤。谢里教授说，与目前的PET检查相比，Explorer使用的放射物质更少并能更快地创建图像。

"So we can do scans in maybe 30 seconds that currently take 20 minutes. Or we can drop the radiation dose significantly, and do scans at a fraction of the radiation dose that we currently do them at."

“因此，我们或许可以在30秒内进行扫描，但目前需要20分钟。或者我们可以使所使用的放射性物质数量显著下降并且使用一小部分放射物质进行扫描可以达到我们目前使用大量放射性物质所达到的水平。”

A complete view could help researchers develop new medicines that target diseases and parts of the body. It could help doctors reduce harmful side effects by following the movement of medicines through the body.

一个完整的视图可以帮助研究人员针对疾病和身体部位开发新的药物。它可以帮助医生通过跟随药物在体内的运动来减少有害副作用。

The researchers hope to test the Explorer with humans in three years.

研究人员希望在三年内用人体检测Explorer。

I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise.

我是Christopher Jones-Cruise。

Deborah Block reported this story from Washington. Christopher Jones-Cruise adapted it for Learning English. Jill Robbins was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

device – n. an object, machine or piece of equipment that has been made for some special purpose

scanner – n. a medical device that is used to see inside something

entire – adj. complete or full; not lacking or leaving out any part

interact – v. to act together; to come together and have an effect on each other (often + with)

interrogate – v. to ask questions or research

X-ray – n. an image that is created by using X-rays and that is usually used for medical purposes

MRI – n. magnetic resonance imaging

organs – n. a part of the body (such as the heart or liver) that has a particular function

tissue – n. the material that forms the parts in a plant or animal

function – v. to work or operate

molecular – adj. relating to the smallest possible amount of a particular substance that has all the characteristics of that substance

metabolize – v. to change (food) into a form that can be used by the body; to process and use (substances brought into the body) by metabolism

shut down – expression to stop the operation of something, especially when a special process is required

radioactive – adj. having or producing a powerful and dangerous form of energy (called radiation)

substance – n. a material of a particular kind

tumor – n. a mass of tissue found in or on the body that is made up of abnormal cells

dose – n. the amount of a medicine, drug or vitamin that is taken at one time

fraction – n. a (usually small) part or amount of something

side effect – n. an often harmful and unwanted effect of a drug or chemical that occurs along with the desired effect