帕金森患者专用笔
Parkinson's Pen Vibrates to Improve Legibility
帕金森患者专用笔
Device stimulates hand muscles to counteract writing issues experienced by some people with Parkinson’s. Larry Greenemeier reports
一款帕金森患者专用笔可以通过刺激手部肌肉让患者顺畅得写字，为帕金森患者带来了新希望。
撰文/播音 拉里·格林迈耶
翻译 李轩
Parkinson’s disease causes tremors or stiffness that can turn everyday tasks such as eating, brushing teeth or writing into frustrating chores.
帕金森综合症会引发颤抖与僵硬，会使患者连基本的吃饭、刷牙与写字都无法顺利进行。
A few years ago a company called Liftware developed forks and spoons that respond to shaking by steadying the utensil, making it easier enjoy a meal.
几年前， Liftware公司发明了一套可以应对颤抖的刀叉，它可以让餐具变得平稳，从而让就餐愉快地进行。
Now researchers at Imperial College and the Royal College of Art in London are developing a device called the ARC pen that vibrates to stimulate muscles in the hand. The vibrations could help Parkinson's patients’ handwriting—in part by counteracting what’s known as micrographia, which causes writing to be small and barely legible. Micrographia is often an early sign of Parkinson’s and afflicts about five percent of patients.
如今伦敦帝国理工学院和皇家艺术学院的研究人员正在研发一款名为ARC笔的新产品，它可以通过震动刺激手部肌肉。这种震动可以帮助帕金森患者写字，让患者克服写字过小的困难，而让字可以辨识。写字过小通常是帕金森综合症的早期症状，它会使5%的患者倍受折磨。
The researchers, who formed a company called Dopa Solution, have not published results but they say that 12 out of the 14 Parkinson’s sufferers testing their vibrating prototype ARC pen were able to write larger, clearer characters than they could with a normal pen.
研究人员为此成立了一个公司，名为Dopa Solution，他们还没有发表任何成果，但他们称14个帕金森志愿患者在使用了他们的产品后，有12名患者能够写更大的字，从而比使用一般笔写字时更容易辨识。
Dopa hopes to also develop tools, brushes and even computer mice that work like their pen. Not a cure, of course, but certainly a way to help users have a more satisfying life.
Dopa公司希望利用同样的原理，再研发专用牙刷甚至专用鼠标。虽然这些工具无法治本，但能让患者生活更加自如也是非常赞的。
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京ICP备11000850号-1
京公网安备11010502039775号 信息网络传播视听节目许可证0111611号
国家科技基础条件平台