Picture Snapping¹⁾ Pill

 

Physicians perform more than two million endoscopies²⁾ a year on the small intestine³⁾，looking for cancers and other ailments⁴⁾ by inserting fiber－optic⁵⁾ tubes via the throat or rectum⁶⁾．This often requires sedation⁷⁾，can be uncomfortable，and some areas remain inaccessible．But now doctors have a tool that can see more of the small intestine．The M２A ――recently approved for use along with traditional endoscopes ――is a wireless video capsule that’s swallowed．It maps the intestine as you go about your business．The M２Asanps two pictures a second for eight hours as it passes through a patient’s system，beaming images to a small recorder worn at the waist．These images are then downloaded to a computer for doctors to analyze．The capsules won’t banish the endoscope，however doctors believe that the M２A is an important diagnostic⁸⁾ advance．

 

可在体内拍照的药丸

 

每年内科医生要在狭窄的小肠上做２００多万次的内窥镜检查，通过从喉部或直肠处插入的纤维视觉管寻找各种癌变和其他疾病的迹象。这种方法经常需要对病人施以镇定剂，可能会有不舒适的感觉，而且有些地方还探察不到。但是现在医生们有一个可以大范围地监察小肠的器具。最近批准的可与传统的内窥镜共同使用的M２A是一种可吞咽的无线影像胶囊。在不影响你正常活动的情况下就可以对肠道进行拍摄取照。M２A在人体系统内运行时，每秒可拍两幅照片，可在病人体内连续工作８小时。所拍图像被戴在腰间的一个小记录器接收、保存。然后这些图像将被下载到电脑里供医生们进行分析和研究。这种胶囊不会取代内窥镜检查的方法，但医生们认为M２A是医学诊断上的一个重大进展。

 

NOTE 注释：

1. snap [snAp] v. 拍照，拍…的快照

2. endoscopy [en5dCskEpi] n. 内窥镜检查法

3. intestine [in5testin] n. [解, 动]肠

4. ailment [5eilmEnt] n. 疾病

5. fiber-optic [5faibE 5Cptik] adj. 纤维视觉的

6. rectum [5rektEm] n. 直肠

7. sedation [si5deiFEn] n. 镇静

8. diagnostic [7daiE^5nCstik] adj. 诊断的