VOA常速英语2015--新激光治疗伤口好的更快且没有疤痕（在线收听）

New Laser Heals Wounds Faster, Without Scarring 新激光治疗伤口好的更快且没有疤痕

All surgical patients want their wounds to heal quickly with the least possible scarring.  But traditional stitches, clips and more modern chemical glues all have their own disadvantages.  Israeli scientists say they have developed a laser that bonds tissue in a way which leaves almost no trace.  

For decades, doctors have known that cuts in living tissue can be “welded” together by heat. But keeping the temperature of the welding tool constant proved to be a daunting problem, according to Abraham Katzir, head of Tel Aviv University’s Applied Physics Department.

几十年来，医生们已经了解到活体组织上的切口可以通过高温“焊接”在一起。但特拉尔埃夫大学应用物理系主任亚伯汉姆·卡特齐尔表示焊接工具维持在一定温度一直是个难题。

"If you heat a spot on an incision to temperatures lower than say 50 or 55 degrees centigrade nothing happens. If you are above 65 degrees than you cause scarring," he said.

“如果你对着伤口一个点加热的温度低于50、55摄氏度，那不会有任何效果。但是高于65度又会留疤。”

A team led by Katzir developed a laser that can project a spot of infrared light, or heat, and at the same time precisely control the temperature of the targeted tissue.

而由卡特齐尔领导的这个小组发明了一种激光，既可投射出一个红外光点或热源，同时又能精确控制被加热组织的温度。

"We carried out experiments on a large number of tissues, on skin, on cornea, on blood vessels and so on and we have gradually improved," said Katzir.

“我们在大量的组织上都进行了实验，皮肤，眼角膜，血管等等，我们在逐渐改进。”

The heat transmitted through a single optical fiber makes the molecules of collagen - the main structural protein of all connective tissues - bond and close the wound.

温度通过一根光纤进行传导，会将所有结缔组织的主要结构蛋白的胶原蛋白分子结合在一起使得伤口愈合。

Ichilov Medical Center ophthalmic surgeon David Versano says this makes the new tool suitable for microsurgery on blood vessels and nerves. The method has been used successfully to heal incisions in corneas taken from dead cows.

伊克洛夫医疗中心眼科医生戴维·瓦萨诺表示这项新工具适用于在血管和神经上所进行的显微手术。这个方法已在从死牛身上取出眼角膜后的切口愈合上取得成功。

“The advantages of the procedure are that we can get bonding to be probably much stronger than with sutures," he said. "We hope that the scarring will also be less than with sutures and eventually we'll get the safety of the procedure to be better."

“优点在于我们可以让接合比用针线缝合牢固得多。我们希望术后的疤痕也能比针线缝合的更小，最终我们还将提升这项技术的安全性。”

Wounds of 10 human patients treated with the laser technique have healed with minimal scarring.  Researchers say with additional refinements, the new surgical tool may soon be in wider use.

10位病患身上的伤口经激光治疗后已经愈合，而且疤痕也很小。研究人员表示经过一些改进之后，这项新的手术工具可能很快就会推广。