Computers in medicine

Taski

Start-up

Make a list of all the applications of computers you can think of which are related to medicine and patient care.

Task 2

Reading

Before reading the text opposite, try to answer the following questions:

The cards below contain a message. What do you think it is? Why do you think the message was given in this form"

3 How could a computer help to convey messages iiK.e this.-

Now read the text and check your answers.

ILEEN CARLETON HAS A whimsical talent for hand signals. When the 65-year-old stroke victim draws a vertical line in the air, 5 her family knows she is referring to 60 a very slim friend of her son.

But a lexicon of hand gestures -no matter how inventive - and the few dozen words left in Carleton's

10 vocabulary following her stroke are 65 inadequate for conveying even the most basic wishes, observations, or questions to her family. Through a pilot study at the School of

15 Medicine, however, Carleton has 70

learned to communicate using a specially designed computer program that has restored not only her ability to express herself, but

20 also, family members and therapists 75 say, her enthusiasm for life.

The stroke that Carleton suffered in 1985 damaged the portion of her brain where words and speech are

25 processed, leaving her with a 80

condition known as aphasia, or the inability to use language. While she is able to comprehend much of what people say to her, she cannot

30 formulate her thoughts into 85

coherent phrases or sentences.

Using the computer program, she can select from hundreds of pictures that represent people, objects,

35 actions, and descriptive qualities 90

and arrange them in sequence to communicate thought, obviating the need to use words.

'When Eileen first entered the

40 study, she depended on her 95

husband Steve to figure out what she wanted to say from her gestures and facial expressions. All she could say was, "Come on! You know!",

45 with increasing frustration,'said Dr 100 Cheryl Goodenough Trepagnier, associate professor of rehabilitation medicine.

The computer program used in

50 the Tufts study was developed in 105

conjunction with the Palo Alto, California, Veterans Administration Medical Center and grew out of research in the 1970s at the Boston

55 Veterans Administration Hospital. 110

'Researchers had found that chimpanzees, whose brains lack specialized language centers, could engage in a kind of communication using plastic tokens that represented different objects and actions,' Dr Trepagnier said. 'We wondered whether aphasics - whose language processing areas are damaged - could benefit from the same idea.'

On small cards, researchers drew symbols representing different people, objects, and actions and trained aphasic patients to select and arrange the cards to form statements or questions. By selecting cards showing a woman, a person walking, a store, and a chicken, for example, an aphasic patient could ask his wife to go to the grocery store to buy some poultry.

'Some patients become quite adept at using the cards,' Dr Trepagnier said. 'But as the number of cards increased, it became awkward and time-consuming to find the right cards and then put them back in the right order. Patients found the cards too cumbersome and didn't use them at home.'

In the mid-1980s, however, a computer program was developed that, like the cards, used pictures to represent ideas, but was easier to use. With the program, aphasic patients could select from hundreds of pictures simply by moving a computer mouse. Dr Trepagnier was among the first researchers to test the new software on aphasics.

'At first, there was a great deal of doubt over whether aphasics would be able to use computer,' Dr Trepagnier said. 'But we found that many took to the computer quite easily. As they became more proficient on the computer, some showed gains

"in their overall self-confidence, as well.'

It's hardly an exaggeration to say that the program transformed

us Carleton's life. In the aftermath of her stroke, Carleton 'was so despondent she sat on the couch all day and did nothing,' said her speech therapist, Evelyn Chedekel.

120 'But as soon as she learned that she's capable of communicating with the computer, her whole world changed. Now she can introduce topics, rather than hoping that

125 people will guess what's on her mind. When her husband passed away suddenly, she was able to canyon.'

Encouraged by the results

130 thus far, Dr Trepagnier will study ways of expanding the computer program's capabilities. For unknown reasons, many aphasics have more trouble

135 conceptualizing verbs than nouns. Making the intellectual connection between a picture of a sailboat and the idea of a sailboat is easier than

140 connecting a picture of a boy running to the idea of running. Trepagnier hopes to overcome this difficulty by designing a program that

145 enables patients to see computer images in motion. ■

Task 3

Task 4

► Vocabulary

whimsical (1. 2) - fanciful, highly imaginative

lexicon (1. 7) - vocabulary

dozen (1. 9) - about twelve

stroke (1.10) - sudden attack of illness in the brain, causing loss of speech and

movement

took to (1.107) - developed an ability with passed away (1.126) - died

Decide which of these titles best sums up the content of the text.

1 A new way to communicate for stroke victims

2 Stroke victims: computers that care

3 New technology comes to the rescue of stroke victims

Read this summary of the text and fill in each gap with an appropriate word.

Eileen Carleton's life has been completely transformed by Dr Trepagnier's

computer program. Whereas she used to be entirely_________ on her

husband to deduce what she wanted to say. now she is able to_________

her own ideas. Before, she had to hope other people would ________ what

she was thinking. Now she is^{4______________} of starting a conversation with

others.

Dr Trepagnier's program was 1_.. _..

communication by chimpanzees, which

areas in their brains. As these language-processing areas are also known to be

in human aphasics. the same idea of using visual symbols to

represent different people, objects, and actions was thought likely to be effective.

Using cards to show these symbols proved i.

the introduction of computer technology has greatly!_____

the system by aphasics, whose lives have been immeasurably — since the invention of this program.

Task 5

Each of the following sentences from the text is followed by two paraphrases. Decide which paraphrase (a or b) is closer in meaning to the original comment. Remember to look at the commer-ts in their original context.

1 But a lexicon of hand gestures - no matter how inventive - and the few dozen
words left in Carleton's vocabulary following her stroke are inadequate for
conveying even the most basic wishes, observations, or questions to her family,
(line 7)

a Eileen Carleton's hand gestures and words are not clear enough to allow

her thoughts to be understood. b Eileen Carleton does not have enough hand signals and words to express

her thoughts..

■

2 While she is able to comprehend much of what people say to her, she cannot
formulate her thoughts into coherent phrases or sentences, (line 27)

a Eileen understands quite a lot of what people are saying to her and knows what she wants to say. However, she cannot translate her thoughts into understandable messages.

b Eileen finds it difficult to choose the right words and sentences to express herself while she is concentrating on what people are saying to her.

3 As they became more proficient on the computer, some showed gains in their
overall self-confidence, as well, (line 108)

a Some people found that their growing confidence about using the

computer made them generally more self-confident. b The more people used their computer, the more self-confident they became.

4 It's hardly an exaggeration to say that the program transformed Carleton's life,
(line 113)

a The program changed Carleton's life in some respects. b The program completely changed Carleton's life.

Task 6

Task 7

Writing

Translate paragraph 6 (beginning 'The computer program used in the Tufts study...') into your own language.

Reading

Task 8

Work in pairs, A and B. Student A should read text 1 only. Student B should read text 2 only. Without looking at the text you have read, tell your partner about it. Write down what your partner tells you about his/her text, then compare it with the original. How accurate is it?

1 2

20:

Robot eye for surgery

Laparoscopy is a procedure in which a camera is pushed through a small hole in the abdominal. It allows a surgeon to operate by television, with instruments inserted through a second hole. The small size of the incisions reduces the trauma for patients and speeds up recovery. Until recently, the procedure- has required the presence of a second doctor to guide the camera for the surgeon.

A new development? now-facili­tates this procedure.. A robot ma­noeuvres the camera in response to the surgeon's head. Fourteen trans­mitters, worn on a headband, "send radio signals to a base unit!’ as the surgeon moves his head left or-right; up or down, forwards or backwards, the robot causes the camera to track his movements, enables him to view the exact area he wishes to see.

Robot surgery for eye

Techniques derived from virtual § reality will soon allow surgeons to * feel as well as see the inside of the eye during an operation. During the

5 operation, the surgeon manipulates a set of controls known as the ma&- J ter. These are connected through a high-performance computer to the robot. The robot's limbs move in

10 exactly the same way, except that; the movements can be scaled down ^v as much as a thousand times, thus eliminating hand tremor and reduc­ing damage to the eye.

15 The computer also creates a three-dimensional view of the inside of the eye, which the surgeon can see wearing a virtual reality helmet and 'feel' via a sensory feedback system which

20 emulates the forces generated by cutting with a surgical tool.

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