心脏起搏器“第二次生命”.docVIP

心脏起搏器“第二次生命” 　　A pacemaker is a small device that doctors place in people with an abnormal heartbeat. If a heart beats too slowly the pacemaker will use electrical signals to help set a normal rate. Some devices include a 　　defibrillator[(电击)除颤器] which gives a shock if the heart beats too fast. Pacemakers may be permanent or 　　temporary, but one thing is sure: developing countries need more of them as more people get heart disease. A big problem, however, is the cost. Buying and implanting a pacemaker costs from 5,000 to 15,000 dollars. 　　But doctors at the University of Michigan think they know a way to lower that cost. The idea is to reuse 　　pacemakers. Heart doctor Timir Baman estimates that more than one million people worldwide need 　　pacemakers each year. He says reusing a pacemaker is an ethical[合乎道德的] way to provide health care to those who have no other way to get one. 　　Baman: A country such as Bangladesh or India, they 　　average less than eight new implants per million, and the United States we average 752 new implants per million. 　　He got the idea a few years ago. One of his patients asked if someone might be given her pacemaker for reuse after she died. But are used pacemakers safe? Doctor Baman studied medical reports about the safety of pacemakers that were being reused in small studies. 　　Funeral directors normally remove pacemakers when preparing bodies for cremation[火葬]. Pacemakers can explode if they are burned. So Doctor Baman asked funeral directors in Michigan to send the pacemakers 　　to him. He and other researchers at the University of Michigan Medical Center tested the used pacemakers. They cleaned and disinfected[给……消毒] the ones in good working order. Then they sent them to doctors in the 　　Philippines, Vietnam, and Ghana. The doctors successfully 　　implanted the used pacemakers in 12 patients. 　　Baman: If we show that this is safe, other academic centers in the United States, as well as in Europe, can then form their own pa