新奇事件簿 英國老人靠仿生眼重獲光明
A man in Britain can see again because of a new bionic eye. Ray Flynn, 80, became the first patient in the world to get the new device, which is an artificial retina. Mr Flynn suffers from a condition called age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This is one of the most common problems with eyesight around the world. Flynn started losing his sight ten years ago. Doctors told him eight years ago that he had AMD. From that time, his sight became worse and worse. It became so bad that he could only see things out of the corners of his eyes. Everything in the centre of his eyes was blurred and he could not see shapes properly. He said that even looking at simple things made him very tired.
英國男子靠仿生眼重獲光明。這位80歲高齡的老人名叫雷·弗林，他也成為了全球首位使用人工視網(wǎng)膜這一新技術的患者。弗林患有老年性黃斑變性。這種疾病也是導致失明最為普遍的原因之一。十年前弗林開始失明。醫(yī)生在8年前告訴他患有老年性黃斑變性。從那時起，他的視力問題變得越來越嚴重。他只能看見眼睛周圍的一些事物。喪失了中央?yún)^(qū)域的視力，對形狀模糊不定。他說就是看一些顯而易見的事物都讓他精疲力盡。
Mr Flynn's bionic eye cost $125,000. Britain's national health service hopes the cost of the operation will come down. This means many more people will be able to have the operation for free. Flynn had the surgery last month. Doctors spent four hours putting a microchip in the back of his eye. Doctors are very happy with the operation, which they said was a success. Flynn can now read a newspaper and admire the flowers in his garden for the first time in many years. His doctor, professor Paulo Stanga, said: "Mr Flynn's progress is truly remarkable. He is seeing the outline of people and objects very effectively." Professor Stanga hopes scientists can also help people who have been blind from birth.
弗林的仿生眼售價為12萬5000美金。英國的國民醫(yī)療保健制度希望降低手術費用。這就意味著許多人能夠免費接受手術。弗林上個月接受了手術治療。醫(yī)生用了4個小時將一個微芯片安裝在了弗林的眼睛底部。這是一次非常成功的手術，醫(yī)生對手術非常滿意。如今，弗林可以讀報紙，欣賞花園中的花朵，這也是這么多年來第一次這么做。他的主治醫(yī)生保羅·斯坦加教授稱：“弗林的進步真是非常顯著。他現(xiàn)在可以清晰地看見人和物體的輪廓。”斯坦加教授希望科學家能夠為失明患者重獲新生。
