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Science & Technology
科技版塊
Neurology
神經(jīng)學(xué)
Standing ovation
站起來熱烈歡迎
Spinal implants allow the paralysed to walk, swim and cycle again
脊椎植入物可以讓癱瘓者再次行走、游泳和騎車
Four years ago Michel Roccati was involved in a motorcycle accident.
四年前，米歇爾·羅卡蒂(Michel Roccati)遭受了一場摩托車事故。
He suffered what neurologists call a "complete" spinal-cord injury—he lost all sensation below the site of the damage to his spine and he could no longer move his legs.
他遭受了神經(jīng)學(xué)家所說的“完全”脊髓損傷——脊椎損傷部位以下完全失去知覺，雙腿也不能動了。
In December last year, however, the young Italian stood up on the streets of Lausanne, Switzerland, and took a short walk.
然而，去年12月，這位年輕的意大利人站在瑞士洛桑的街道上，走了一小段路。
Mr Roccati's remarkable steps, supported by a wheeled walking frame, were the conclusion of more than a decade of work by Grégoire Courtine, a neuroscientist at the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, and Jocelyne Bloch, a neurosurgeon at Lausanne University Hospital.
在輪式行走支架的支撐下，羅卡蒂邁出了驚人的步伐，這是洛桑聯(lián)邦理工學(xué)院神經(jīng)科學(xué)家格雷瓜爾·庫爾廷(Grégoire Courtle)和洛桑大學(xué)醫(yī)院(Lausanne University Hospital)神經(jīng)外科醫(yī)生喬斯琳·布洛赫(Jocelyne Bloch)十多年的研究成果。
The scientists had fitted Mr Roccati with a device that stimulated nerves in his back that once controlled muscles in his lower body and legs, but which had lain dormant since his accident.
科學(xué)家們在羅卡蒂先生身上安裝了一種刺激背部神經(jīng)的裝置，這些神經(jīng)曾經(jīng)控制他下半身和腿部的肌肉，但自從他發(fā)生事故后就一直處于休眠狀態(tài)。
Even after a severe spinal injury, the nerves that control activities such as walking often remain intact below any damaged tissue.
即使在嚴重的脊椎損傷之后，控制行走等活動的神經(jīng)通常都保持完好。
In people with paralysis, however, the damaged tissue interrupts or weakens any electrical signals coming from the brain.
然而，對于癱瘓的人來說，受損的組織會中斷或減弱來自大腦的任何電信號。
Dr Courtine and Dr Bloch developed a wafer-thin device with electrodes that could target the dormant nerves.
庫爾廷博士和布洛赫博士開發(fā)了一種極薄的設(shè)備，其電極可以瞄準休眠的神經(jīng)。
Once implanted into Mr Roccati's back, the device sent in pulses of electricity that mimicked those normally present in the nerves of an uninjured person as they walk.
一旦植入羅卡蒂先生的背部，這種裝置就會發(fā)出電脈沖，模擬正常的人行走時神經(jīng)中通常存在的電脈沖。
By doing this, the device acted like an amplifier for any electrical signals coming from Mr Roccati's brain.
通過這樣做，該設(shè)備就像是一個放大器，可以接收來自羅卡蒂大腦的任何電信號。
Those signals would normally be blocked by his damaged spinal tissue and be incapable of activating the nerves in his lower back.
在正常情況下，這些信號通常會被他受損的脊椎組織阻擋，無法激活他背部下部的神經(jīng)。
But with the stimulation device in place, Mr Roccati was able to voluntarily control those once-dormant nerves, allowing him to move his legs and walk.
但有了刺激裝置，羅卡蒂就能夠自主控制那些曾經(jīng)休眠的神經(jīng)，讓他能夠移動雙腿和行走。
Mr Roccati was one of three paralysed volunteers who took part in a small clinical trial of the device, details of which were published this week in the journal Nature Medicine.
羅卡蒂是參與該設(shè)備小型臨床試驗的三名癱瘓志愿者之一，該試驗的細節(jié)本周發(fā)表在《自然醫(yī)學(xué)》雜志上。
The device worked well enough that all three users in the trial were able to stand up and take a few steps almost immediately after they had recovered from the surgery to have it implanted.
該設(shè)備運行良好，試驗中的三名用戶在植入手術(shù)恢復(fù)后幾乎都能立即站起來走幾步。
This was a marked improvement on previous implementations of this kind of technology, in which scientists had repurposed nerve implants normally used to treat chronic pain.
這與之前這種技術(shù)的實施相比是一個顯著的進步，科學(xué)家們重新調(diào)整了通常用于治療慢性疼痛的神經(jīng)植入物。
In the few instances where those experiments had been successful, it had taken many months of training for patients to learn to walk again.
在少數(shù)幾個實驗成功的案例中，患者需要經(jīng)過數(shù)月的訓(xùn)練才能重新學(xué)會走路。
Dr Courtine's and Dr Bloch's new device can be configured to fire its electrical impulses in many different patterns, each of which corresponds to a different activity.
庫爾廷博士和布洛赫博士的新設(shè)備可以配置成以許多不同的模式發(fā)射電脈沖，每種模式都對應(yīng)于不同的活動。
Patients in the trial were not only able to stand and walk, but eventually also to swim and cycle.
試驗中的患者不僅能站立和行走，而且最終還能游泳和騎自行車。
The new device will need approval from medical regulators before it can be used in clinics.
這種新設(shè)備需要獲得醫(yī)療監(jiān)管機構(gòu)的批準，才能在臨床上使用。
Its inventors set up a company called NeuroRestore, which is working with Onward Medical, a Dutch company, to commercialise their new device.
它的發(fā)明者成立了一家名為NeuroRestore的公司，該公司正與荷蘭公司Onward Medical合作，將他們的新設(shè)備商業(yè)化。
The impact of the device on the lives of those in the small Swiss trial, however, has already been dramatic.
然而，在瑞士進行的小規(guī)模試驗中，該設(shè)備對那些患者的生活產(chǎn)生了巨大的影響。
Mr Roccati highlights the little things — walking up stairs, for example, or standing in the shower.
羅卡蒂先生強調(diào)了一些小事——比如，走上樓梯，或者站著淋浴。
At a bar, he can stand up to chat with friends.
在酒吧里，他可以站起來和朋友聊天。
After training, he is now also able to walk around for two hours every day.
經(jīng)過訓(xùn)練，他現(xiàn)在也可以每天走兩個小時了。
"With the walker," he says. "I am free."
“用助行器，”他說?！拔沂亲杂傻??！?/p>
