Playing Tetris video game ’fixes lazy eye’, doctors say 醫師說，玩俄羅斯方塊電玩「矯正懶惰眼」

Playing Tetris video game ’fixes lazy eye’, doctors say
醫師說，玩俄羅斯方塊電玩「矯正懶惰眼」
2013-05-20◎管淑平

Canadian doctors say they have found an inventive way to treat lazy eye - playing the Tetris video game.
加拿大醫師說，他們發現一項治療懶惰眼的創新方法：玩俄羅斯方塊電玩遊戲。

An estimated one in 50 children has lazy eye, known medically as amblyopia.
估計每50名兒童中就有1人有懶惰眼，醫學上名為弱視。

Normally, the treatment is to cover the good eye with a patch to make the weak one work harder.
通常治療方式是用眼罩遮住視力良好的那隻眼，以加強使用視力弱的那一眼。

Dr Robert Hess of the McGill University set out to investigate whether a different approach might work.
麥吉爾大學的羅勃．海斯博士要了解採用不同方式是否有效。

Armed with a special pair of video goggles they set up an experiment that would make both eyes work as a team.
他們使用一副特殊眼鏡安排一項可讓兩眼如團隊般分工合作的實驗。

Nine volunteers with amblyopia were asked to wear the goggles for an hour a day over the two weeks while playing Tetris, the falling building block video game.
9名患有弱視的自願者被要求在2週期間內，每天戴著這種眼鏡玩俄羅斯方塊1小時。

The goggles allowed one eye to see only the falling objects, while the other eye could see only the blocks that accumulate on the ground in the game.
這種眼鏡能讓使用者的一眼只看遊戲畫面中正在掉落的方塊，另一眼看著底下累積的方塊。

Another group of nine volunteers with amblyopia wore similar goggles but had their good eye covered, and watched the whole game through only their lazy eye.
另一組9名弱視患者也戴著類似眼鏡，但遮住視力良好的眼睛，遊戲時只靠弱視的那眼看。

At the end of the two weeks, the group who used both eyes had more improvement in their vision than the patched group.
2週結束時，兩眼並用那組人的視力，比遮眼那組進步得多。

The researchers then let the patched group have a go at using the goggles with both eyes uncovered. Their vision then improved significantly.
接著研究人員讓遮眼那組試著使用兩眼都沒遮著的眼鏡。之後，他們的視力也顯著改善。

新聞辭典：

set out to：動詞片語，著手、展開做某事。例句：They set out to prove their theory.（他們著手證明他們的理論。）

fix：動詞，整理、修理，吸引注意，賄賂（口語）。例句：That old woman crying for help fixed our attention.（那名哭求幫助的老婦吸引我們注意。）

have a go：動詞，嘗試、企圖做。例句：Why not let him have a go. He will do better this time.（何不讓他放手一試。他這次會表現得更好。）