New Medical Products
1. Useful Vocabulary:
implant a thing put in smb’s body
annual happening every year
contribute to give (usually money or help) to support smth; to
increase
device a thing made or adapted for a special purpose
to treat here: to give medical care or attention to smb
trial an act or a process of testing
to insert to put smth, usually between two things
to wire to join one thing to another
to trigger to be the cause of a reaction, to start
to counteract to act against and reduce the force or effect of
smth
routine a fixed and regular way of doing smth
2. The text:
Medtronic of the US, the world’s biggest market of medical implants,
also continues to develop new products. In the late 1980s, most of its annual sales
came from heart pacemakers, but other new products will this year contribute to
sales of more than $5 billion.
The economy specializes in implanted devices that manage rather
than cure – heart disease, as well Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Diseases.
Medtronic has developed an implantable device for treating
epilepsy and could start trials in humans next year. The implant is inserted under
the skin by the chest and wired up to receive signals from the brain.
Through this mechanism, the device could tune into the signals which
indicate an epileptic attack is about to take place. These would trigger electric
signals from the implant which would counteract the brain signals and prevent the
attack. If all goes well in the clinical trials, products could be in routine use
later this decade.
The Financial Times
3. Provocative thinking:
1. What is better in your view: to cure the disease or to relieve the
pain/symptoms?
2. What should the medicine develop first: the methods to cure or
methods to kill pain?
3. What do you think about lethal injections to save people from
suffering?
4. What do you think about implants? Is it right to interfere with
natural law?
5. Do you believe that cures will be found for all illnesses in the
next 100 years?
4. Number the paragraph summaries in the correct order.
Two of the summaries are not used.
1. Medtronic is also working on devices that can be worn outside the
body.
2. Medtronic used mostly to make pacemakers, but now other products are
also important.
3. One of its products is for treating epilepsy.
4. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is now understood.
5. The company makes products that control diseases, not cure them.
6. The device works by picking up signals from the brain and then
producing other signals to prevent an attack from happening.
5. Fill in the prepositions if necessary:
1. If the experiments go well ___ the clinical trials, products could
be ___ routine use one day.
2. The specialists presume that the new range ___ products will
contribute ___ sales.
3. The device ___ treating epilepsy can be launched ___ next autumn.
4. The talks ___ relieving pain ___ of curing disease are
controversial.
5. The world’s biggest market ___ medical implants continues to be
the development ___ new products.
6. Everybody hopes that one day cures ___ all illnesses would be found.
7. Most of the annual sales came ___ heart pacemakers ___ the late
1980s.
8. The device is wired ___ to receive signals directly ___ the brain.
9. This company specializes ____ implanted devices.
10. The firm is going to start trials ___ humans ___ next year.
6. Word-matching:
Match the words from the left column to those on the right and
then make up five sentences of your own using these word-combinations:
1. to specialize a. the disease
2. to treat b. trials
3. to carry out c. in food industry
4. to continue d. to sales
5. range e. the factory
6. to sponsor f. a catastrophe
7. to receive g. signals
8. to start h. the development
9. to prevent i. of products
10. to contribute j. the experiments
7. Fill in articles where necessary:
1. _____ world’s biggest market of _____ medical implants continues
to develop _____ new products.
2. _____ implant is inserted under _____ skin by _____ chest and wired
up to receive _____ signals from _____ brain.
3. Through this mechanism, _____ device could tune into _____ signals
which indicate _____ epileptic attack is about to take _____ place.
4. In _____ late 1980s, most of its _____ annual sales came from _____
heart pacemakers.
5. _____ other new products will this year contribute to _____ sales of
more than $5 billion.
8. Write:
a) A letter of approval to Medtronic clinic,
b) A letter of indignation to Medtronic clinic.
9. Imagine you are a mayor of a big city.
Ten years ago the population of your city was 5 million people;
today – only 3 million live in your city. People die because of health problems.
What would you do to improve health situation in your area?
VOCABULARY TO USE:
environmental problems
birth rate
ratio of births over deaths
flu
pneumonia
rheumatism
heart attack
brain damage
scales
urgent measures
treatment for the disease
listing the problems
free medicine
compulsory vaccination
medical centers
healthy products
Keys:
4.
The names of the paragraph summaries in the correct order:
1. Medtronic is also working on devices that can be worn outside the
body.
3. One of its products is for treating epilepsy.
5. The company makes products that control diseases, not cure them.
6. The device works by picking up signals from the brain and then
producing other signals to prevent an attack from happening.
The names of the paragraph summaries that are not used:
2. Medtronic used mostly to make pacemakers, but now other products are
also important.
4. The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is now understood.
5. 1. in, in; 2. of, to; 3. for, –; 4. about, instead;
5. of, of; 6. for; 7. from, in; 8. up, from; 9. in; 10. in,
–
6. 1. c; 2. a; 3. j; 4. b; 5. i; 6. h; 7. g; 8. e; 9. f; 10. d
7. 1. the, –, –; 2. the, the, the, –, the; 3. the, the,
an, –; 4. the, –, –; 5. –, –
Compiled by Alena Pavlova
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