众所周知，虚拟现实技术在医学领域有着广泛的应用，我们经常能够看到VR设备帮助医生进行病情的诊断或是治疗。
据研究，大约有60-80%的截肢者在截肢后的某个时候会出现“幻肢综合症”。为了治疗这种情况，EPFL（洛桑联邦理工学院）主导了一项科学合作，运用虚拟现实技术来让截肢者接受他们的新假肢。
根据研究，大约有60-80%的截肢者在截肢后的某个时候会出现“幻肢综合症”。这是一种不舒服的、有时甚至是痛苦的情况，受影响的人感觉他们仍然可以控制自己的“鬼魂”肢体，甚至可能体验到诸如瘙痒、抽搐和想做手势的欲望等感觉。
According to research， approximately 60-80% of amputees experience a case of “phantom limb syndrome” at some point following their amputation。 An uncomfortable， sometimes painful case， those affected feel as though they still have control of their “ghost” limb and may even experience sensations such as itching， twitches， and the desire to gesture。
最近假肢技术的进步已经被证明对截肢者恢复功能很有用，尽管结果喜忧参半。那些受幻肢影响的人常常认为他们失去的肢体比原来的要小得多，这导致了对新的、适当大小的假肢的精神排斥。再加上这些假肢体提供的触觉反馈几乎为零，你就可以开始理解为什么这些问题患者并不总是能够无缝过渡。
Recent advancements in prosthetic technology have proved useful in returning functionality to amputees， albeit with mixed results。 Those affected by phantom limb often imagine their missing limb as much smaller than it originally was， resulting in a mental rejection of the new， appropriately-sized prosthetic limb。 Add in the fact that a majority of these fake limbs provide zero tactile feedback， and you can begin to understand why it may not always be a seamless transition for these troubled patients。
为了对抗这些假肢的排斥，一项由EPFL（洛桑联邦理工学院）领导的科学合作已经开始使用VR技术来帮助截肢者接受他们未来的新假肢。
To help combat the rejection of these prosthetic limbs， a scientific collaboration led by EPFL （Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne） has begun using VR technology to assist amputees in accepting their futuristic new limbs。
该项目基于著名的“眼见为实”（see is belief）成语，在刺激受影响区域的同时，向患者展示与现实生活中发生的动作同步的相应VR片段。在两名手部截肢者的案例中，研究人员触摸了截肢者残肢的关键部位，而VR视频显示，虚拟手被实时刺激。
Based off the famous “seeing is believing” idiom， the project involves stimulating an affected area while corresponding VR footage， synced to the actions happening in real-life， is displayed to the patient。 In the case of two hand amputees， researchers touched key areas of the amputees stumps while VR footage showed a virtual hand being stimulated in real-time。
结果是一个更长的，更准确的幻肢感觉。这反过来又使病人容易接受他们的假肢。一些报道指出，截肢者甚至能感觉到他们的“鬼肢”长出了新的肢体。
The result was a longer， more accurate phantom limb sensation。 This in turn lead to the patients easily accepting their prosthetic limbs。 Some reports indicate that the amputees could even feel their ghost limb growing into their new one。
“大脑有规律地利用它的感官来评估什么是属于身体的，什么是外在的。”我们展示了如何可以结合视觉和触觉来诱骗截肢者的大脑感觉它看到什么，诱导假肢手的使用，并使幻肢长成假肢手”，由奥拉夫·布兰科（Olaf Blanke）领导的EPFL认知神经修复实验室的朱利奥·罗格尼尼（Giulio Rognini）表示，他与EPFL的Silvestro Micera和Scuola Superiore Sant ‘Anna合作，“这种装置是可移植的，有一天可能会变成一种疗法，帮助病人永久地植入他们的假肢。”
“The brain regularly uses its senses to evaluate what belongs to the body and what is external to the body。 We showed exactly how vision and touch can be combined to trick the amputee’s brain into feeling what it sees， inducing embodiment of the prosthetic hand with an additional effect that the phantom limb grows into the prosthetic one，” states Giulio Rognini of EPFL’s Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroprosthetics led by Olaf Blanke， in a collaboration with Silvestro Micera of EPFL and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna。 “The setup is portable and could one day be turned into a therapy to help patients embody their prosthetic limb permanently。”
最初由洛桑联邦理工学院（Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne）报道，你可以通过《神经病学、神经外科与精神病学杂志》（Journal of Neurology， Neurosurgery & Psychiatry）了解到更多关于合作结果的信息。
Originally reported by Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne， you can learn more about the collaborations results via the Journal of Neurology， Neurosurgery & Psychiatry。
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