評論
打印
Microneedles
微針療法
Female: From fluvaccines to tetanus boosters, injections are a must in modern medicine. But do they always have to make you say Ouch?
從流感疫苗到破傷風針，注射（的方式）在現代醫學中是不可或缺的。但是它們是否就一定會讓你尖叫呢？
Male: Eh,no?
嗯，不會嗎？
F: No,indeed.If new microneedle technology is successful, we may soon have needles that inject medicine without your even knowing it. How does this work, you ask?
真的不會！如果新的顯微針技術成功了的話，我們將很快享受甚至你都不能意識到的藥物注射。你快問（我）它是如何辦到的？
M: How does it work?
它是如何辦到的？
F: You feel things because of the nerves that are embedded in your skin. However, the entire surface of your skin is not covered. From a microscopic viewpoint, there is plenty of space between nerves where a super-tiny needle wouldn't be felt.
你有感覺是因為你皮膚里鑲嵌的有神經。然而，它卻沒有完全覆蓋你的皮膚。在顯微鏡下可以看到，神經之間有很多空間，而在這里人們便感受不到微型針。
M: No way!
不可能！
F: Way! Researcher Mark Prausnitz and his coworkers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta have already built micro-injection devices. Imagine a platform the size of your thumbnail, made of silicon, metal or glass. The surface is covered with a thousand needles, each no bigger than a period at the end of a typewritten sentence.
可能！亞特蘭大喬治亞理工學院的研究人員Mark Prausnitz和他的同伴們已經研制出了微型注射器具。試想它就如拇指指甲蓋大小，材料是硅、金屬或是玻璃。表面被一千個微型針所覆蓋，每一個都還沒一個句子中的句號那么大。
When this chip is placed on your skin its like rolling in a briar patch—you are pierced again and again. But so small are the briars, you feel nothing. Because they cause no discomfort, microneedles may soon allow doctors to administer controlled amounts of medication over long periods of time. That would be a big step toward the precision medicine of tomorrow—and away from the big Ouch of yesterday.
當這個芯片被植入到你的皮膚就仿佛是卷入到了荊棘區一樣，它會一次又一次的刺你。但它是如此的小，以至于你什么都感覺不到。因為它們不會帶來不適感。微型針很快就能讓醫生在很長時間內掌管在量上有控制的藥物治療。這對于告別以前的疼痛時代、對于將來藥物治療的精準性來說都是邁出了一大步。
