VOA慢速英語：新PET掃描儀能夠觀察人體內部結構

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.

科學家們正在研發(fā)一種醫(yī)療裝置，它可以告訴他們更多關于人體的信息并幫助他們制定更有效的關于癌癥、心臟疾病與腦部疾病的治療方法。

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.

它將是世界上第一個全身PET掃描儀。PET表示正電子放射斷層攝影術。PET掃描儀可以實現3-D成像，顯示出你的身體狀況。

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.

研究人員呼吁使用他們正在研發(fā)的 Explorer大型掃面儀。它會向醫(yī)務工作者提供圖片，顯示出以前從未見過的人類全身身體狀況，PET掃描儀目前只能向醫(yī)生提供部分身體部位的圖像。

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.

美國國立衛(wèi)生研究院向加州大學戴維斯分校的一個研究團隊提供1550萬美元用以創(chuàng)建該大型掃描儀。

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.

拉姆齊巴達維是加州大學戴維斯分校放射科的教授。他說，掃描儀將會給研究人員提供關于人體器官如何協(xié)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!

“我們是由一個器官系統(tǒng)組成并且所有的器官之間彼此相互作用。以前，我們從未真正地使用圖像來檢查這些器官。但現在我們可以實現這一點。”

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射線和核磁共振成像可以顯示骨骼和器官的圖像。 PET掃描可以向醫(yī)生提供在分子層面器官組織之間是如何相互運作的。這些圖像有助于他們辨別與追蹤疾病。新的掃描儀將幫助他們做的更好。

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.

西蒙是加州大學戴維斯分校生物醫(yī)學工程學教授。他表示PET掃描可以顯示疾病與醫(yī)療的進程。

"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."

“對于PET掃描，我們著眼于功能。我們現在確實可以了解體內細胞狀況——如它們是如何新陳代謝的，或者它們分裂有多迅速。以癌癥為例，當你用藥時，觀察到這些藥物是否可以停止腫瘤代謝是非常強大的功能。”

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掃描使用放射性物質來發(fā)現腫瘤。謝里教授說，與目前的PET檢查相比，Explorer使用的放射物質更少并能更快地創(chuàng)建圖像。

"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，我們或許可以在30秒內進行掃描，但目前需要20分鐘?；蛘呶覀兛梢允顾褂玫姆派湫晕镔|數量顯著下降并且使用一小部分放射物質進行掃描可以達到我們目前使用大量放射性物質所達到的水平。”

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.

一個完整的視圖可以幫助研究人員針對疾病和身體部位開發(fā)新的藥物。它可以幫助醫(yī)生通過跟隨藥物在體內的運動來減少有害副作用。

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

研究人員希望在三年內用人體檢測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.

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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