2018年CRI Boston Marathon bomb survivors may get advanced prosthetics

 

Doctors and researchers are applying lessons learned from treating survivors² of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 to advance prosthetics.

A new amputation³ procedure saves tendons that are normally severed⁴.

CRI's Yu Yang has the story.

Survivor¹ Marc Fucarile is one of the seventeen people who lost limbs in the Boston bombing five years ago.

He lost his right leg in the blast, and his left leg was badly maimed.

Fucarile says his left leg is the source of unceasing pain, but he's held onto it hoping for change.

"I still question every day when and if I'm gonna to keep it or when I'm gonna to cut it off. That's the reality I live with, but I'm hoping on technology changing. I'm hoping on surgeries, things changing in the future. So I'm gonna hold on to it as long as I can and tolerate and deal with the pain for as long as I can. But yeah, my left leg is a nuisance every day."

Boston is now one of a number of centers where doctors are carrying out research to combine an improved amputation method with more sophisticated artificial limbs.

This will mean amputees can one day use their brains to control their prostheses.

Fucarile is intrigued⁵ by the new advances.

"So seeing all the new advancements⁶ in technology and surgical⁷ procedures that are being tried and practiced and studied. I'm taken back. I'm blown away. I'm excited because, you know, it potentially could make my life better."

A positive thing to come out of the bombing on April 15th, 2013 is the collective experience gained by the doctors who treated patients in the aftermath.

Dr. Matthew Carty, reconstructive plastic surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital, says the event clarified the crucial need to improve amputations.

"The gravity of the bombings and the intensity⁸ of the experience really pushed me and my colleagues and our collaborators over at MIT to start thinking about things much more, in much more granular terms."

Dr. Carty predicts the development of the technology that will translate brain signals into movement of an artificial leg.

"When coupled with an appropriately adapted next-generation prosthesis will enable folks who are suffering limb loss who undergo this modified procedure to have much more exquisite⁹ control of the prosthetic limb, but also to get sensory¹⁰ information back."

The device could cost from 15,000 dollars to more than 100,000 dollars.

For some amputees, insurance often isn't enough to cover the surgery costs.

The Boston victims received payouts from a compensation fund, and some have launched fundraising efforts or found other ways to cover their costly devices

1 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 amputation   

n.截肢

参考例句：

• In ancient India,adultery was punished by amputation of the nose.在古代印度，通奸要受到剖鼻的处罚。
• He lived only hours after the amputation.截肢后，他只活了几个小时。

4 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

6 advancements   

n.（级别的）晋升( advancement的名词复数 )；前进；进展；促进

参考例句：

• Today, the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements. 当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Great advancements in drought prediction have been made in recent years. 近年来，人们对干旱灾害的预报研究取得了长足的进步。 来自互联网

7 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

8 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

9 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

10 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。