VOA标准英语2013--iPhone Becomes Low Cost Microscope

 

iPhone Becomes Low Cost Microscope

The Apple iPhone can be used for lot of things – making calls, playing games and sending pictures, video and text. Scientists say it also can be converted into a low-cost microscope to detect worm-related infections in children.

Dr. Issac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at Toronto General Hospital, says with a few dollars and a little ingenuity¹, the "smart phone" is turning into an important medical diagnostic tool in places that often lack such techology, like rural Africa. 

“I used an iPhone 4s and that’s simply because I just happen to own one, but any smart phone with a decent camera and a zoom-in function should work just fine," he said. "Then we bought a ball lens, which is about eight dollars. We just got it online. And then we used some double-sided tape to stick the ball lens to the lens of the camera on the iPhone.”

Bogoch is the lead author of a new study on the iPhone-turned-microscope. It appears in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene².

“We got this idea from reading some of the medical literature, and we saw that some other groups had published neat images that were taken in the laboratory using smart phones and converting them into microscopes," he said. "But we thought that this was a really neat concept and we wanted to take it to real world and practical settings."

Bogoch and his colleagues from Massachusetts General Hospital and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute tested their idea on Pemba Island in Tanzania.

“We were looking at school age children that are unfortunately disproportionately affected³ by intestinal⁴ parasitic⁵ infections. And these infections affect over a billion people on the planet,” he said.

The make-shift microscope could detect parasitic infections to varying degrees. The best results came in detecting moderate to heavy infections. Results were not as good for mild infections. However, Bogoch thinks that will change when the technology improves.

“We took slides. We were looking for intestinal parasites⁶. So these are stool samples. The slide had a little bit of cellophane covering the stool sample and we put the slide very close to our ball lens, which was stuck up against the iPhone. And we were able to zoom-in and we could see the parasites that we were looking for pretty easily.”

Intestinal worms include hookworms and round worms. They can cause chronic⁷ anemia⁸ and malnutrition⁹. Typical diagnosis¹⁰ is done by examining a stool sample with a conventional light microscope.

Bogoch said that the next step is to improve the image quality. He says the smartphone microscope could greatly enhance disease control in poor, rural areas. He added that treatment for many intestinal parasites is generally widely available and very well tolerated.

If health workers in the field are unsure what the image means, he says they could text or email it to experts elsewhere and get a diagnosis a short time later.

1 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

2 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 intestinal   

adj.肠的；肠壁；肠道细菌

参考例句：

• A few other conditions are in high intestinal obstruction. 其它少数情况是高位肠梗阻。 来自辞典例句
• This complication has occasionally occurred following the use of intestinal antiseptics. 这种并发症偶而发生在使用肠道抗菌剂上。 来自辞典例句

5 parasitic   

adj.寄生的

参考例句：

• Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
• By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。

6 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

7 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

8 anemia   

n.贫血，贫血症

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。
• I was put on iron tablets for my anemia.我曾因贫血吃补铁药片。

9 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

10 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。