科学家们将虚拟现实技术应用到医学上

Virtual Reality Applications in Medicine, Security on Horizon 科学家们将虚拟现实技术应用到医学上

For now, virtual reality is still mostly associated with video games. But computer chips that process video images are getting better and better at fooling our minds, and they could soon be able to convince us we are someplace we are not.

Scientists at a University of Maryland computer lab called the Augmentarium, together with physicians from the university’s Shock Trauma¹ Center, are mixing virtual reality with the real world to create something called "augmented² reality." The technology could have applications in such fields as military combat, medicine and public safety.

For instance, soldiers wearing special goggles³ while on the battlefield could be able to see critical data without averting⁴ their eyes from the scene. Or, surgeons in an operating room could take a whole new approach to their work.

“Right now," said Dr. Sarah Murthi, a trauma surgeon at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, "I put a probe on you and I have to look at the screen over here, and the patient monitors may be up here, and I’m not really looking at the patient. You can imagine, if I were wearing these glasses and I put the probe on the patient, now I can look directly at you. We are still talking, and now I can still look at your heart. So it makes it much more immediate⁵.”

Fusing images from multiple surveillance cameras into a virtual reality could also help security officers more effectively monitor different areas.

“Public safety officials will be able to transport themselves virtually from one part of the campus to another part and respond to emergency situations,” said Amitabh Varshney, a professor of computer science at the University of Maryland's Institute for Advanced Computer Studies.

Researchers admit that virtual reality headsets are still bulky, but they point out that early smartphones were also large, had a short battery life and no touch interfaces⁶.

“Today, as the smartphones have gotten smaller, they are more portable. The whole field of social media engagement has emerged out of the smartphones," Varshney said. "And we believe something similar is going to happen with virtual augmented reality headsets.”

Scientists say that with sufficient funding, this innovative⁷ technology could be available in three to five years.

1 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

2 Augmented   

adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• 'scientists won't be replaced," he claims, "but they will be augmented." 他宣称：“科学家不会被取代；相反，他们会被拓展。” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• The impact of the report was augmented by its timing. 由于发表的时间选得好，这篇报导的影响更大了。

3 goggles   

n.护目镜

参考例句：

• Skiers wear goggles to protect their eyes from the sun.滑雪者都戴上护目镜使眼睛不受阳光伤害。
• My swimming goggles keep steaming up so I can't see.我的护目镜一直有水雾，所以我看不见。

4 averting   

防止，避免( avert的现在分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• The margin of time for averting crisis was melting away. 可以用来消弥这一危机的些许时光正在逝去。
• These results underscore the value of rescue medications in averting psychotic relapse. 这些结果显示了救护性治疗对避免精神病复发的价值。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 interfaces   

界面( interface的名词复数 )； 接口（连接两装置的电路，可使数据从一种代码转换成另一种代码）； 交界； 联系

参考例句：

• If the class needs to be reprogrammed, new interfaces are created. 如果class需要重新程序设计，新的interfaces创建。
• Interfaces solve this problem of evolving code. Interfaces解决了代码升级的问题。

7 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。