“科幻”电极套为数百万瘫痪患者带来了新的希望

“科幻”电极套为数百万瘫痪患者带来了新的希望

Cutting-edge technology is giving new hope to millions of people living with paralysis across the United States. Researchers at The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research have successfully developed a light-weight, wearable electrode sleeve that regulates and triggers finger movement in quadriplegics.

尖端技术给美国各地数以百万计的瘫痪患者带来了新的希望。范斯坦医学研究所的研究人员已经成功开发出一种重量轻、可穿戴的电极套，可以调节和触发四肢瘫痪患者的手指运动。

The lead researcher, Chad Bouton, said his team developed the sleeve after they determined there was brain activity in motor areas years after severe injuries. The team realized that there was a way to stimulate the arm and isolate individual finger movements.

首席研究员查德·鲍顿(Chad Bouton)说，他的研究小组在发现严重受伤多年后，大脑的运动区域仍有活动，于是开发了这种袖状装置。研究小组意识到，有一种方法可以刺激手臂，并隔离手指的运动。

“This has been a very difficult problem in the world of rehabilitating folks living with paralysis after a stroke or a spinal cord injury,” Bouton told Fox News. “The hand is one of the most challenging areas of the body to rehabilitate because of that fine movement and all of the types of intricate motions the fingers in hand can do.”

鲍顿在接受福克斯新闻采访时说:“对于中风或脊髓损伤后瘫痪的患者来说，康复一直是一个非常困难的问题。”“手部是身体最具挑战性的恢复部位之一，因为手部的精细运动和手指所能做的各种复杂的运动。”

The unique way in which Bouton’s team learned to stimulate muscles led to the development of a wearable sleeve that patients could use every day. The sleeve allows for refined motor movement, and all of the actions are completed by the participants’ own volition. That means the sleeve picks up the muscle’s attempt to motion and then stimulates, over the skin, to help with the movement and complete the task.

鲍顿的团队学习刺激肌肉的独特方式，导致了一种病人每天都可以使用的可穿戴袖的开发。套筒允许精细的运动，所有的动作都是由参与者自己的意志完成的。这意味着，袖接住肌肉的运动尝试，然后刺激皮肤，帮助运动和完成任务。

Casey Ellin, 32, became one of the first patients to test out the sleeve.

32岁的凯西·埃林(Casey Ellin)成为第一批测试这种套管的病人之一。

“I went into the study with no expectations,” Ellin said. “At first when I tried it, I felt like I was in some sort of sci-fi movie getting an upgrade, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I went in thinking that what we are doing at the study could benefit so many people in the future.”

“我没有抱任何期望就开始了这项研究，”埃林说。“一开始我尝试的时候，我觉得自己像是在科幻电影里得到了升级，但我不想抱太大希望。我当时就在想，我们在这项研究中所做的事情可能会在未来造福很多人。”

Ellin suffered a cervical spinal cord injury in June 2013 while diving in the ocean at Jones Beach. Doctors diagnosed him with having a C5 spinal cord injury, which meant he had substantial motor and sensory limitations.

2013年6月，埃林在琼斯海滩的海水中潜水时，颈椎脊髓受伤。医生诊断他患有C5脊髓损伤，这意味着他有大量的运动和感觉障碍。

Bouton told Fox News that Ellin has been able to make great strides with the sleeve.

鲍顿在接受福克斯新闻采访时表示，艾林已经能够在袖子上大展拳脚。

“Casey’s been able to wear the sleeve and use it to pick up things, like a granola bar, and then feed himself, and these types of accomplishments are very, very important,” he said.

他说:“凯西能够戴上袖子，用它来拿东西，比如格兰诺拉燕麦卷，然后自己吃东西。这些成就非常非常重要。”

Ellin said he believes that this type of invention has the potential to open many doors for the disabled community.

埃林说，他相信这种发明有潜力为残疾人社区打开许多大门。

“Being able to have the use of one’s hands, even in a limited capacity would be a game-changer,” Ellin said. “Studies like this give me a lot of hope for the future, I think this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

埃林说:“即使是在有限的能力范围内，手的使用也将改变游戏规则。”“这样的研究给了我很多未来的希望，我认为这只是冰山一角。”

Bouton echoed Ellin’s optimism for the future of paralysis patients.

鲍顿对瘫痪病人的未来表示乐观。

“If you have a wearable form of this type of stimulation, these types of electrodes, you can wear it not only on the upper limb, but also the lower limb,” Bouton said. “And we are working with folks to explore that, and we hope in the future to potentially even help people regain leg movement and maybe one day even walking.”

鲍顿说:“如果你有这种可穿戴式的刺激，这种类型的电极，不仅可以戴在上肢，还可以戴在下肢。”“我们正与人们一起探索这个问题，我们希望未来能帮助人们恢复腿部运动，也许有一天甚至能走路。”