A patient on the brink of death has
received the world's first self-contained artificial heart—a battery powered
device about the size of a softball that runs without the need for wires, tubes
or hoses sticking out of the chest. Two surgeons from the
University of Louisville implanted the titanium and plastic pump during a
seven-hour operation at Jewish Hospital Monday. The hospital said the patient
was "awake and responsive" Tuesday and resting comfortably. It refused to
release personal details. The patient had been expected to die
within a month without the operation, and doctors said they expected the
artificial heart to extend the person's life by only a month. But the device is
considered a major step toward improving the patient's quality of
life. The new pump, called AbioCor, is also a technological
leap from the mechanical hearts used in the 1980s, which were attached by wires
and tubes to bulky machinery outside the body. The most famous of those, the
Jarvic-7, used air as a pumping device and was attached to an apparatus about
the size of a washing machine. "I think it's potentially a
major step forward in the artificial heart development," said Dr. David Faxon,
president of the American Heart Association. However, he said the dream of an
implantable, permanent artificial heart is not yet a reality. "This is obviously
an experimental device whose long-term success has to be demonstrated." Only
about half of the 4,200 Americans on a waiting list for donor hearts received
them last year, and most of the rest died. Some doctors,
including Robert Higgins, chairman of cardiology at the Medical College of
Virginia in Richmond, said artificial hearts are unlikely to replace donor
hearts. "A donor heart in a good transplant can last 15 to 30
years," he said. "It's going to be hard to replace that with a
machine." The AbilCor has a 2-pound pumping unit, and
electronic controls that adjust the pumping speed based on the body's needs. It
is powered by a small battery pack worn outside the body that transmits current
through the skin.
单选题
The pump of the first implanted self-contained heart was made of
titanium and plastic.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第二段第一句“two surgeons...titanium and plastic pump”可知，路易斯维尔大学的两位外科医生将钛和塑料的泵植入病人体内，所以题干叙述正确。故本题选A。
单选题
The patient's life was expected to last several years longer by
implanting the artificial heart.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第三段第一句后半句“...they expected...person's life by only a month”可知，医生们表示他们只指望人工心脏能延长病人一个月的生命，所以题干叙述错误。故本题选B。
单选题
There is no difference in structure between the self-contained heart
and the mechanical heart.
单选题
The American Heart Association recommended widely using the
self-contained heart.
A. Right
B. Wrong
C. Not mentioned
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 根据文章第五段第二句“he said the dream...is not yet a reality...obviously an experimental device...”可知，美国心脏病学会主席法克森博士认为可植入的永久的人工心脏还无法成为现实，整套装在一起的人工心脏只是试验性的装置，能否长期成功还有待证实，所以题干叙述错误。故本题选B。
单选题
Dr. David Faxon believed that the implantable, permanent artificial
heart will certainly be developed in the future.