Severely disabled people may soon be able to use their noses to write, drive a wheelchair or surf the Internet, thanks to a device (装置) developed by doctors in Israel.
The device will be used by breathing in and out through the nose, according to a study. Healthy people who tested the device quickly learned to play computer games and write sentences by sniffing. Encouraged by the results, the researchers decided to test their device on people who are paralyzed (瘫痪) but whose intelligence remains normal. Ten paralyzed who tested the device quickly learned to use their noses to write words, open a webpage, copy words and put them into a search engine.
With their success in helping severely disabled people to communicate, the researchers decided to make use of the new technology to design an electric wheelchair to be driven by sniffs.
Ten healthy people easily mastered sniff—driving a wheelchair through a maze (迷宫), and a 30-year-old man who had been paralyzed from the neck down for six years was as good a sniff-driver as the healthy participants at his second attempt. In other words, a paralyzed person could use the sniff controller to drive an electric wheelchair.
At the moment, sniff-controlled technology is still in the stage of development, and the Weizmann Institute has already applied for a patent on the device. "I’ll be very happy if it can help us to make money, but the real problem is that I hope someone will develop it, because this would help a lot of people," said Sobel, one of the lead researchers of the study.
What’s the purpose of the passage?
A.To introduce a new invention. |
B.To equip the disabled with life skills. |
C.To show the nose's special functions. |
D.To instruct doctors to apply for a patent. |
In the test, the paralyzed people with normal intelligence can use their nose to ______.
A.type long sentences quickly |
B.play computer games easily |
C.enter a website without much difficulty |
D.communicate with others successfully |
With the help of the sniffing device, a 30-year-old disabled man ______.
A.spent six years learning how to drive a wheelchair |
B.failed to drive through the maze at his first attempt |
C.took the wheelchair controlled by healthy participants |
D.managed to drive an electric wheelchair by sniffing |
From the last paragraph, we can infer that the sniff-controlled technology ______.
A.will be applied to other fields of research |
B.needs further developing to serve more people |
C.has become an important patented invention |
D.shows the wisdom and talents of Israel doctors |