VOA慢速英語：研究人員開發(fā)出診斷糖尿病引發(fā)潰瘍的設備

Scientists Developing Machine to Identify Diabetes-related Ulcers

研究人員開發(fā)出診斷糖尿病引發(fā)潰瘍的設備

Diabetes mellitus is the name for several disorders with one thing in common: there is too much glucose, or sugar, in the blood.

糖尿病是幾種疾病的總稱，它們有著一個共同點：血液中含有過多的葡萄糖。

The body uses a natural hormone, called insulin, to change sugar and other food into energy.

人體利用胰島素這種天然激素將葡萄糖和其它食物轉化為能量。

Diabetes develops when the body does not produce enough insulin or produces none at all. Or it develops when the body cannot use insulin.

當身體無法產生足夠多或完全不產生胰島素時，或者當身體無法利用胰島素時就會患上糖尿病。

People living with diabetes often suffer from other health problems. One complication can be damage to tissue on the feet. These foot ulcers can worsen if left untreated. Doctors may decide to remove the damaged area in an operation called an amputation. In some cases, the patient could die.

糖尿病患者常?；加衅渌】祮栴}。其中一種并發(fā)癥會損害腳部組織。如果不治療，這些足潰瘍就會惡化。醫(yī)生可能會決定采取截肢手術切除受損部位。在某些情況下，這些病人可能會死亡。

But a device being developed in Britain could help doctors recognize when ulcers are about to form.

但是英國正在開發(fā)的一種裝置可以幫助醫(yī)生在潰瘍即將形成時做出診斷。

Using a relatively simple temperature sensing device, doctors scan a patient's feet for signs of an ulcer. The information may help them prevent ulcers from forming, as well as improve the condition of the patient.

醫(yī)生使用一種相對簡單的溫度感測裝置掃描患者腳部是否有潰瘍跡象。這些信息可以幫助他們預防潰瘍形成以及改善病人癥狀。

The scanning device is called the DFirst. It works by looking for hot spots, or places of higher than normal temperature, on the feet of people with diabetes.

這種掃描裝置被稱之為DFirst。它的工作原理是尋找糖尿病患者腳部的熱點，即高于常溫的部位。

Doctors believe that hot spots help identify areas of inflammation, which could lead to foot ulcers.

醫(yī)生認為，熱點有助于找到可能會導致足潰瘍的炎癥部位。

Untreated ulcers are a leading cause of diabetes-related amputations.

未經(jīng)治療的潰瘍是糖尿病相關截肢的主要原因。

Robert Simpson is a researcher with the National Physical Laboratory near London. He notes that studies have shown a link between amputations and patient survival rates.

羅伯特·辛普森(Robert Simpson)是位于倫敦附近的英國國家物理實驗室的一名研究人員。他指出，相關研究已經(jīng)表明了截肢和患者生存率之間的聯(lián)系。

"If you have an amputation, then unfortunately the outlook is up to 50 percent of those who have an amputation are dead within two years, and up to 80 percent are dead within five years."

他說：“如果患者被截肢，那么不幸的是，截肢患者在兩年內死亡的可能性高達50%，在5年內死亡的可能性高達80%。”

How ulcers lead to problems

潰瘍如何導致這些問題

Diabetes can cause damage to the nerves of the patient. Nerve damage can limit the patient's ability to feel pain. People living with diabetes may not feel an ulcer developing in its early stages.

糖尿病會對患者的神經(jīng)造成損害。神經(jīng)損傷會限制患者感受疼痛的能力。糖尿病患者可能無法感受到早期潰瘍的形成。

Using the new scanner, Simpson said, doctors can clearly see areas of inflammation in what he likens to a temperature map.

辛普森表示，使用這種新型掃描儀，醫(yī)生可以清楚地看到被他比作溫度圖的炎癥部位。

"So what we have here is a thermal imaging camera core. This is sensitive to the infrared which has a strong relationship with temperature; so this provides you with a temperature map."

他說：“這里面的核心是一個紅外線熱像儀，它對跟溫度高度相關的紅外線很敏感，所以能夠提供一個溫度圖。”

The problem of foot ulcers could be bigger than health experts have recognized.

足潰瘍問題比健康專家意識到的還要大。

A 2014 study by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that 400 million people live with diabetes. Some estimates say that 25 percent of patients will develop foot ulcers.

世衛(wèi)組織2014年的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，有4億人患有糖尿病。有人估計其中25%的患者會出現(xiàn)足潰瘍。

Simpson said, in Britain, the problem has led to an increase in the number of amputations.

辛普森表示，這個問題已經(jīng)導致了英國截肢人數(shù)的增長。

"There are 140 amputations every single week, so that is nearly one every hour," he noted. He added that 80 percent of these were "driven by foot problems."

他指出：“每周都有140例截肢，幾乎每小時都有一例截肢。”他補充說，其中80%是因為腳部問題造成的。

Researchers say that until recently doctors looked for hot spots with scanners that could not observe the whole foot. Because of this, problem areas could easily be missed.

研究人員表示，到現(xiàn)在醫(yī)生還在使用無法觀測整個腳部的掃描儀來尋找熱點。因為這個原因，問題區(qū)域很容易被忽略。

Simpson said about 100,000 people in Britain have a foot ulcer. He said these people also are likely to develop another ulcer. He said it is important to help them better manage their health problems.

辛普森表示，英國大約有10萬人患有足潰瘍。他說，這些人還可能患上另一種潰瘍。他說，幫助他們更好地管理自己的健康問題非常重要。

The current version of the DFirst is held with two hands. Researchers have been testing the scanner for two years. Designers hope that later versions of the DFirst will be as small as a smartphone.

當前版本的Dfirst設備是用兩手操作的。研究人員對這種掃描儀進行了為其兩年的測試。設計人員希望Dfirst的后續(xù)版本能夠像智能手機一樣小巧。

I'm Mario Ritter.

馬里奧·里特報道。