VOA标准英语2008年-Amputees Embrace World's First Bionic Hand

By Paul Sisco
Washington
10 January 2008
 

A British firm called Touch Bionics has developed the world's first commercially available bionic hand.  The company introduced the hand in Britain in September 2006 and in the U.S. in July.  Users say the electronic prosthetic is a vast improvement over previous artificial hands.  Paul Sisco has this week's Searching for Solutions report.

Lindsay Block was born without a lower left arm, and has been fitted with artificial replacements¹ since childhood.

Donald McKillips' hand was amputated after an accident he had as a young man.

And retired² U.S. Army Sergeant³ Juan Arredondo lost his hand to a roadside bomb in Iraq. He recalls the incident: "About 9:30 in the morning, and 28th of February 2005, a roadside bomb was detonated, on my left side. I was driving that day. My hand was severed⁴. It was still on the steering⁵ wheel."

Today they report remarkable⁶ dexterity⁷ and capabilities⁸ with their artificial hands from Touch Bionics, a British firm run by Stuart Mead⁹. "We've managed to take technology from other fields, bringing it together and produce the world's first truly bionic hand," says Mead.

Each prothesis is individually constructed, insuring a proper fit. The artificial hands have sophisticated electronics that power five motors allowing each digit¹⁰ to function independently.

"How the hand actually works is the patient thinks of an action and the brain sends a signal down through the central nervous system to a muscle grip," explains Hill.  "Now we read that signal and it allows the hand to open and close.  Now the really intelligent part about the hand is the way it adapts to different shaped objects." 

After being fitted and tested, Juan Arredondo performs everyday tasks with ease.   David Glow of Touch Bionics explains that until now, artificial hands were limited.

"If I can operate it here, that's the hand in a position that you would use as a human to do what we call the power grip. So that would be for holding objects quite firmly, and you can't do that with existing artificial hands.  We can put this into what we call the key grip, which is where, as you would imagine, you can turn a key in a lock; again existing electric hands can't do that.  And then we can put it into the pincher grip, where the thumb and fingers meet together in a precision grasp," he outlined.

Block says she has more options now. "With this one there are so many possibilities.  I've never really had a hand where I can see it do different shapes. It really does feel like it has all the possibilities that my regular hand has," adds Block.

The bionic hands come in various skin tones and cost between $60,000 and $150,000.

Some video courtesy of Touch Bionics

1 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

2 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

3 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

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 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 dexterity   

n.(手的)灵巧，灵活

参考例句：

• You need manual dexterity to be good at video games.玩好电子游戏手要灵巧。
• I'm your inferior in manual dexterity.论手巧，我不如你。

8 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 mead   

n.蜂蜜酒

参考例句：

• He gave me a cup of mead.他给我倒了杯蜂蜜酒。
• He drank some mead at supper.晚饭时他喝了一些蜂蜜酒。

10 digit   

n.零到九的阿拉伯数字，手指，脚趾

参考例句：

• Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
• Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。