巧手編織生命之花

These Bolivian women have years of experience[sic] of knitting woollen hats， sweaters， blankets， and now hi-tech medical products. At this clinic in the capital， La Paz， the women are part of the production of the small devices which can save the lives of hundreds of children with 1）congenital heart defects. They were created by a Bolivian doctor to correct small heart problems without doing open heart surgery， which can be expensive. Dr. Franz Freudenthal has successfully operated on hundreds of children and now exports his new inventions all over the world.

Dr. Freudenthal： The reason why we do it is because we need to do it， because we don’t want to see that those patients die， and we take everything what was on hand， and the most important thing is that we try to get really， really simple solution [sic] for complex problems.

The problem the device seems to fix is a hole in the heart， one which normally corrects itself soon after birth. The device is made of a complex fabric similar to that used in other medical products. But what is new

is that it’s made of a superelastic metal called “2） Nitinol.” It can memorize its own shape. It can be contracted or folded whilst traveling from the 3）groin to the heart through a 4）catheter， and then expanded when it arrives at its final destination， the heart. Recovering its original shape， it then blocks the 5） ductus or hole that causes the problem， and they stay there without the need to be changed or renewed.

People who live with congenital heart problems struggle to gain weight and are easily fatigue [sic]. It’s believed that these kind of problems are ten times more frequent here than in other countries， and it’s specially common among children， like 6-years-old [sic] Cynthia， who was operated [on] three years ago. The blood， that was supposed to go to the whole body to supply oxygen and nutrients， used to escape through a vessel called the ductus before it was stopped by one of these devices.

Cynthia’s Mother： （via translator） She couldn’t even walk one block. She used to tell me she was too tired. She used to go purple when crying. She almost fainted. That’s how I realize [sic] she had a problem. Now she’s normal. She can run and play.

Bolivia has one of the highest children [sic] mortality rates in the world， but it lacks a state-run program to treat these kind of congenital heart malfunctions [sic]. At least for these patients， the answer to their problem is in the hands of these skilled women.

這些玻利維亞婦女有多年編織毛線織物的經(jīng)驗，她們織帽子、毛衣、毯子，現(xiàn)在她們還編織高科技的醫(yī)療器械。在玻利維亞首都拉巴斯的這家診所里，這些婦女參與制作一種小型器械，這種器械可以挽救數(shù)以百計先天性心臟病患兒的生命。此器械由一名玻利維亞醫(yī)生發(fā)明，用于修復(fù)輕微的心臟缺陷，而無需做昂貴的開胸手術(shù)。弗朗茲·弗洛伊登塔爾醫(yī)生已經(jīng)成功地為數(shù)百名兒童放置了此器械，現(xiàn)在還要將他的新發(fā)明推廣到世界各地。

弗洛伊登塔爾醫(yī)生：我們這樣做，是因為我們需要這樣做，因為我們不想看著那些病人死去，我們利用一切可利用的條件，最重要的是我們嘗試用非常、非常簡單的方法去解決復(fù)雜的問題。

該器械要解決的問題是心臟的一個孔洞，該孔洞通常在孩子出生后不久就會自行修復(fù)。器械用復(fù)合纖維制成，類似于其他醫(yī)療設(shè)備上使用的制作材料，但不同的是，該纖維由一種叫“鎳鈦合金”的超彈性金屬制成。它能記住自己的形狀。在通過一條導(dǎo)管從腹股溝被送往心臟時，它可以收縮或折疊，等到達(dá)目的地心臟后，它就會張開。在恢復(fù)原來的形狀后，它就可以阻斷導(dǎo)致問題出現(xiàn)的導(dǎo)管或孔洞，并且一直留在那里，不需要改換或更新。

患有先天性心臟病的人想要增加體重非常困難，還容易感到疲勞。人們相信此類心臟病在這里的發(fā)病率比其他國家高十倍，在兒童中尤其常見。六歲的辛西婭就是其中的一例。……