【经济学人】意识可以控制行动了？|2017.04.01|总第857期

• Implants    植入法    

• Algorithms     算法

DURING a 250km (150-mile) bike ride for charity in Ohio, William Kochevar found himself cycling behind a post-office van when it pulled over to make deliveries. Distracted and tired, Mr Kochevar did not brake in time. The accident, in 2006, left him paralysed from the shoulders down. Now, with the help of electrodes that transmit signals from his brain to his muscles, he has been able to grasp a fork and feed himself for the first time in over a decade. The procedure that allowed Mr Kochevar to achieve the feat is reported in the Lancet this week.

在2006年的一次前往俄亥俄州慈善机构的250千米（150英里）路途期间，William Kochevar发现自己行驶在邮政货车的后面，在货车停车寄发邮件的时候，身心俱疲的Mr Kochevar 没能及时的刹车，一场事故就这样发生了，事故造成他肩部以肢体瘫痪。现在，依靠电机大帮助，他大脑中的电极将脑部的神经信号传送到各肌肉部位，他现在已经可以使用刀叉，并且这是他十年里第一次自己吃饭。这周的柳叶刀杂志报道了Mr Kochevar这一壮举的过程。

• electrodes 电极

• feat 壮举

Bolu Ajiboye and Bob Kirsch, biomedical engineers at Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, used functional magnetic-resonance imaging to locate nerve cells responsible for arm movements in the left motor cortex of Mr Kochevar’s brain. The technique highlighted a patch of his brain to which the blood supply increased whenever Mr Kochevar imagined moving his right arm. The team then implanted at that spot two 4x4mm chips, known as Utah arrays, each armed with 96 tiny electrodes, to measure the electrical activity of the 100 or so nerve cells there. They also implanted 36 stimulating electrodes in the muscles of his right hand and arm.

Bolu Ajiboye和 Bob Kirsch，克利夫兰的凯斯西储大学的生物医学工程师， 利用磁共振成像技术在Mr Kochevar左半脑的运动皮层来定位神经细胞，这些细胞负责支配肢体运动。 这一技术加强了他大脑中的一块区域，即 Mr Kochevar想要移动右侧肢体时，支配这一运动的大脑区域就会增加血供。之后，这一团队植入以犹他阵著称的4x4mm的芯片，每个芯片都有96个小电极，用来检测那一片大脑区域的100多个神经细胞的电活动。他们也在他的右上肢的骨骼肌中植入了36个激励电极。

• magnetic-resonance imaging   核磁共振成像

• Utah arrays       犹他阵

Because Mr Kochevar had lost the nerves required to move many of his shoulder muscles, his arm movements were assisted by a motorised platform, which he also controlled remotely. Around a year after receiving the implants, he was able to grasp a coffee cup and drink from it with a straw. To feed himself took a further year of training.

因为Mr Kochevar已经失去了肩部以下的许多骨骼肌运动的神经反应，他的臂的活动是由机动平台来支配的，也可以通过远程控制，大约植入芯片一年之后，他能够端住咖啡杯子并且通过吸管喝咖啡，之后训练自己一个人吃饭又花了一年的时间。

The technique Dr Ajiboye and Dr Kirsch employed to achieve all this, which is called functional electrical stimulation (FES), has been used in monkeys and has also permitted paralysed human patients to move a robotic arm（读者试译）. Last year a different group of researchers reported that the technique had allowed a paralysed man who was still able to move his elbow to reach and grasp objects. Mr Kochevar’s paralysis is more severe, however, and the motions he can perform with the aid of FES are more complex.

 期待您的翻译，将留言留在下方留言板，明天我们会有长难句解析哦 。去年，另一组的研究者报道称，瘫痪的病人依靠这项技术移动他们的手臂，去接近并且可以拿住物体。但是，Kochevar瘫痪的程度挺严重的，他在功能性电刺激（FES）的帮助下，他要完成动作会可能较困难些。

•  functional electrical stimulation 功能性电刺激

Even so, there are hurdles to clear before FES can be used routinely. The electrodes implanted into the brain do not last more than a few years. More robust ones need to be developed before FES can be deployed widely. Several groups are working on that. Also, both the brain electrodes and the electrodes to the arm and hand are connected to the outside world by cables. Wireless connections would be better. Such a set-up was demonstrated last year in monkeys. With luck, people will not have to wait much longer to follow suit.

在FES常规使用之前，仍然还有许多问题需要解决。植入脑部的电极使用寿命只有几年。在FES得以广泛的使用之前，需要研究出更稳定的电极芯片。有几个研究组正在攻克这一问题。脑部电极和手臂的电极通过电缆与外部连接。当然，无线连接更好。去年，这一系列的设施在猴子身上得到了演示。而人类有幸将在不久后也能使用这一设备。

翻译 ▍Sopia.yao

审核 ▍云图

编辑 ▍小小鱼