VOA慢速英语20060524a

HEALTH REPORT - F.D.A. Approves New Artificial Knee Implants² for WomenBy Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Wednesday, May 24, 2006

I'm Bob Doughty³ with the VOA Special English HEALTH REPORT.

Women who have problems with artificial knee implants may get some help soon. The United States Food and Drug Administration recently approved a replacement⁴ knee designed especially for women.

About four hundred thousand people in the United States have knee replacement operations each year. More than sixty percent of them are women.


People with cartilage damage in the knee may need knee replacement surgery

People who have damaged cartilage in their knees are good candidates for a replacement operation. Cartilage is a kind of soft connective tissue. Injuries or disease may cause cartilage loss. When cartilage is gone in the knee, bones rubbing together may restrict movement and cause severe pain.

In a replacement operation, doctors remove damaged parts of the thighbone, the shinbone and the kneecap. They replace the damaged parts with parts made of metal and plastic.

Studies have shown that a knee implant¹ lasts about fifteen years. Women report more problems with implants than men do. Problems include pain and difficulty moving the knee. In some cases, another operation is needed. Experts believe this is because makers⁵ of knee implants are more concerned about size than shape. A man's knee is shaped differently than a woman's. Men usually have shorter and wider knees. Women's knees are smaller and narrower.

Makers of the new knee implant say it is shaped to fit a woman's bone structure. They say women should experience less pain and recover more quickly. Currently, complete recovery can last three months or longer. Makers of the new product say it will also make knee replacement operations easier to carry out.

Zimmer Holdings Incorporated built the new Gender⁶ Solutions knee. The company already makes other replacement knees and hips⁷.

Nine medical experts helped to design the Gender Solutions knee. One of them is Kim Bertin of L.D.S. Hospital in Utah. He compared existing knee implants to putting men's shoes on women's feet.

Other experts question the effectiveness of the new knee. They believe it is just a marketing⁸ tool to interest women. No studies have shown that the new implant works better than other products.

Also, Zimmer has competition. Another company, Stryker Orthopedics, says it makes a knee to fit both men and women.

This VOA Special English HEALTH REPORT was written by Cynthia Kirk. I'm Bob Doughty.

1 implant   

vt.注入，植入，灌输

参考例句：

• A good teacher should implant high ideals in children.好教师应该把高尚理想灌输给孩子们。
• The operation to implant the artificial heart took two hours.人工心脏植入手术花费了两小时。

2 implants   

n.（植入身体中的）移植物( implant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters. 激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Perhaps the most far-reaching project is an initiative called Living Implants From Engineering (LIFE). 也许最具深远意义的项目，是刚刚启动的建造活体移植工程 (LIFE)。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

3 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

4 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

7 hips   

abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的

参考例句：

• She stood with her hands on her hips. 她双手叉腰站着。
• They wiggled their hips to the sound of pop music. 他们随着流行音乐的声音摇晃着臀部。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。