PHOENIX, Ariz. — A new tongue-controlled computer mouse would allow someone with no working arms or legs to use a computer. With such a device, people with even severe physical handicaps might navigate cyberspace. The new mouse system was unveiled last week by its designer, a Canadian teen.

凤凰城，亚利桑那州——一款新的由舌头控制的电脑鼠标可以让胳膊或者腿失去作用的人使用电脑。拥有这样一款设备，甚至有严重身体残疾的人也可以上网了。上周这款新的鼠标系统的设计者，一名加拿大青年公开了这一产品。

More than 250,000 Americans alone have spinal cord injuries, according to experts at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Some 118,000 of these people are quadriplegic (Quah-drah-PLEE-jik), meaning both of their arms and legs are paralyzed.

根据伯明翰的阿拉巴马大学的专家的调查，250,000多美国人患有脊髓损伤。这些人当中约有118,000人四肢瘫痪，也就是说他们的双臂和双腿完全瘫痪。

Some researchers have invented ways for such people to control a computer using brain waves or the movements of their eyes. But now, Emma Mogus has come up with an easier way for many such patients to control a computer: using their tongue.

一些研究者已经想出了一下方法让这些人能够用电脑波或者眼球运动来控制电脑。但是现在艾玛·莫古斯想出了一个更加简单的方法让更多患者可以用舌头控制电脑。

Emma built a prototype of her device using simple parts. The main part is a mouth guard, like those used by football players or other athletes. Emma drilled five holes in the mouth guard that a tongue could reach: two on the left side, two on the right, and one in the front. She installed a pressure-sensitive switch in each hole. Four of the switches correspond to the up, down, left and right arrows on a computer keyboard. The fifth switch acts like the “click” button on a computer mouse. Together, all of these parts cost less than $10.

艾玛已经用简单的部件完成了自己的设备模型。主要的部分是舌头能够触到的口腔防护器：左右两边分别有两个，前面有一个。她在每个孔中都安装了一个压敏开关。开关中的四个与电脑键盘的上下左右相似。第五个开关充当电脑鼠标的“点击”键。这些部分加起来的成本在10美元以下。

In tests, volunteers were able to quickly learn how to use Emma’s device. After just a session or two, they were navigating onscreen more quickly and typing more words per minute than when they started.

在试验中，志愿者能够快速学会使用艾玛的设备。经过仅仅一两个阶段，他们在屏幕上的操作与打字速度要比他们刚开始学的时候快很多。

Emma suspects that her invention could be useful for far more people than just those with spinal-cord injuries. People with multiple sclerosis or other paralyzing conditions, might use the device too.

艾玛推测她的发明不仅能够帮助脊髓损伤的患者，也能帮助更多其他类型的患者。患有多发性硬化症或者其他瘫痪症状的人，或许也可以使用这一设备。