VOA慢速英语:激光束扫描器几秒即可检测疟疾感染

激光束扫描器几秒即可检测疟疾感染

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

Researchers have developed a medical device which they say can find malaria infections in the human body. The laser beam scanner is the first device that can find the sometimes deadly disease without going inside the body. The test is painless, does not need blood from a person, and appears to be right every time it is done.

研究人员称他们开发出一种可以检测人体疟疾感染的医疗设备。这种激光束扫描器是第一种无需进入人体即可发现疟疾这种有时会致命的疾病的装置。该检测是无痛的，无需人的血液，并且似乎每次做完结果都是正确的。

At the present time, a trained medical worker needs costly equipment, a person's blood and a lot of time to know if a person has been infected with malaria. Trained workers, equipment and time are not always available in poor parts of the world. The newly developed device only needs a person to place a finger on a laser device.

目前，经过培训的医务人员需要昂贵的设备，人的血液和大量时间去了解一个人是否感染疟疾。经过培训的人员、设备和时间在全球的贫穷地区并非总能获得。这种新开发的设备只需人将一根手指放在一台激光设备上即可。

Doctor Dmitri Lopotko is a researcher at the department of biochemistry and cell biology at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Dmitri Lopotko博士是得克萨斯州休斯敦莱斯大学生物化学和细胞生物学系的一位研究人员。

"We shine a very short light pulse through the skin. And this light pulse is absorbed only by malaria parasites because of the wavelength we use. And in response to this short light pulse, the parasite literally explodes," he said.

他说，“我们照射一个很短的光脉冲穿过皮肤。由于我们使用的波长原因，这种光脉冲只能被疟疾原虫吸收。这种寄生虫因这种光脉冲而爆裂。”

The light pulse comes from a low-powered laser. It has less power than a laser point. It shines on a very tiny particle called the hemozoin which is produced by the malaria parasite once it has infected red blood cells. Hemozoin crystals are not found in red cells that are not infected with malaria.

这种光脉冲来自于低功率激光。它比激光点的能量还小。它照射在疟疾原虫感染红细胞生成的疟原虫色素上。疟原虫色素晶体在未感染疟疾的红细胞中找不到。

As the crystals are heated by the laser, they create small bubbles inside infected cells. Doctor Lopotko says the bubbles exploded, and then make a sound that scientists can hear and count.

随着这种晶体被激光加热，它们会在感染细胞中产生小气泡。Lopotko博士表示，该气泡爆裂，然后发出一种科学家能够听到和统计的声音。

"You can detect just a few infected cells in a million normal cells," he said.

他说，“我们在1百万个正常细胞中只能检测出少数感染的细胞。”

Doctor Lopotko says when researchers tested the device, it was never wrong. And it was able to find malaria infection early when treatment is very important.

Lopotko博士表示，当研究人员测试这种设备，它从未出过错。它还能够在治疗非常重要的时期提前发现疟疾感染，

The device can be carried and uses its batteries. It costs about 10,000 to 20,000 dollars to make. But Doctor Lopotko says considering the number of people it can test, that is not a lot of money.

这种设备便于携带，它使用自身的电池。制造这种设备需要花费大约1万到2万美元。但Lopotko博士表示，考虑到它可以检测的人数，这没多少钱。

"Each device will be capable to screen more than 200,000 people per year. So the cost of analysis for each patient will be less than 50 cents," he said.

他说，“每台设备每年可以筛查超过20万人，所以分析每位病人的费用将低于50美分。”

People without medical training can use the device to discover whether people are infected with malaria. Doctor Lopotko says the light beam used by the device is safe.

未经医疗培训的人可以使用这种设备查明某人是否感染疟疾。Lopotko博士表示，该设备使用的这种光脉冲是安全的。

Researchers will now test the device at a hospital in Houston that cares for patients infected with malaria. If those tests are successful, researchers will test the device throughout the world this year.

研究人员现在将在休斯敦一所治疗疟疾感染病人的医院测试这种设备。如果这些测试成功，研究人员今年将在全球范围测试这种设备。

An article describing the malaria detection device was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

一篇关于这种疟疾检测设备的文章发表在美国国家科学院期刊上。