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An estimated 20 million cases of blindness worldwide are caused by cataracts,
全世界有将近两千万失明病例是由白内障引起的，
a curable condition affecting the lens that focuses images onto the eye's retina.
白内障是一种可治愈的、与图像聚焦到视网膜上的晶状体相关的疾病。
A cataract occurs when proteins in the lens lose their normal arrangement,
白内障是因晶状体中的蛋白质失去正常构造引起的，
clumping together in a way that causes discoloration or clouding, and eventually blocks most vision.
晶体蛋白质开始结块，导致失色或浑浊，最终挡住大部分视线。
Cataracts can be caused by eye injury, certain medications, ultraviolet radiation, diabetes, smoking, or some genetic disorders.
眼部受伤、个别药物、紫外线辐射、糖尿病、吸烟或一些基因失序都可以引起白内障。
But the most common cause is aging.
最常见的病因是年老。
In the United States, more than 50% of people over the age of 80 develop them.
在美国，百分之五十80岁以上的人有白内障。
Cataracts were treated over 2,500 years ago in India,
印度2500年前就开始治疗白内障，
though similar procedures may have existed even earlier in Ancient Egypt and Babylon.
尽管类似的治疗手法可能更早之前就存在于古埃及和巴比伦。
The most common procedure, called couching,
最常用的治疗手法，针拨术，
involved pressing a sharp instrument into the eye to loosen and push the clouded lens out of the way.
是把一个尖的器具压进眼睛，使浑浊的晶状体变松并将其推开。
Although this could increase the amount of light entering the eye,
尽管这样可以增加眼睛接收的光，
the lack of a lens would leave the patient's vision out of focus.
但是晶状体缺失会使患者视线失焦。
Despite its low success rate, and high risk of infection or injury,
尽管成功率低，感染率和受伤率高，
couching is still performed in some parts of the world.
世界的一些地方还在使用针拨术。
Later procedures would also focus on removing the cloudy lens,
这之后的治疗手法也都针对浑浊晶状体的移除，
for example, by making an opening in the cornea to pull out the lens along with the membrane capsule surrounding it.
比如说，在眼角膜开口，将晶状体和包裹在周围的表膜囊拉出。
While the invention of eyeglasses allowed for some restoration of focus, they had to be extremely thick to help.
尽管眼镜的发明可以恢复聚焦，他们要特别厚才能有用。
Furthermore, such techniques still caused complications,
而且，这些技术还会制造麻烦，
like damaging the retina, or leaving the eye with uncomfortable stitches.
比如损坏视网膜，或者让眼睛上有令人不舒服的缝线。
But in the 20th century, something unexpected happened.
但在二十世纪，料想不到的事情发生了。
Eye surgeon Sir Harold Ridley was treating World War II casualties
眼科医生哈罗德·里德利在治疗二次世界大战伤员时，
when he noticed that acrylic plastic from a shattered aircraft cockpit
发现飞机驾驶员座舱碎片的丙烯酸塑料
had become lodged in a pilot's eyes without triggering an adverse reaction.
埋入了一个飞行员的眼睛，却没有引发任何不良反应。
This led him to propose surgically implanting artificial lenses into the eye to replace cataracts.
这让他提出用手术在眼睛里植入人工晶体来治疗白内障。
And despite initial resistance, the method became standard practice by the 1980s.
尽管开始有些阻力，不过这个方法在20世纪80年代成为了标准操作。
Since Ridley's discovery, the intraocular lens has undergone several improvements.
从里德利的发现开始，眼内镜片已经经过了多次改良。
Modern lenses can fit into the membrane capsule that the cataract is extracted from,
现代晶状体镜片可以放进取出白内障的表膜胶囊，
leaving more of the eye's natural anatomy intact.
眼睛的大部分自身的结构不会受损。
And the ability to fine-tune the lens curvature
能够精细的调整镜片的弧度，
allows the surgery to restore a patient's normal vision without the need for glasses.
使手术能够让患者恢复正常视力，不再需要眼镜。
Of course, surgical techniques have also progressed.
当然啦，手术技术也进步了。
Microscopic procedures use small instruments or lasers to make precise incisions of one or two millimeters in the cornea,
微型手术使用小型器具或者激光在超声波探针打碎并移除白内障化眼角膜时，
while an ultrasound probe breaks up and removes the cataracted lens with minimal trauma to the eye.
在眼角膜上精准地切出一个一两微米的创口，这只会对眼睛造成微乎其微的创伤。
Low-tech versions of this operation have made the surgery quick and inexpensive,
低技术版的操作使得手术快且不贵，
helping it spread across the developing world.
这个手术因此得以传遍发展中的国家。
Places like Aravind Eye Hospital in India have pioneered high-volume, low-cost cataract surgery for as little as six dollars.
印度的亚拉眼科医院等地提倡最少只用六美金的高容量，低价格的白内障手术。
Why then, with all these advances, are there still so many blind people in the world?
那为什么，有了这些先进技术，世界上还有那么多盲人？
The main issue is access to health care,
主要的问题是因无法得到医疗，
with poor infrastructure and a shortage of doctors being a major barrier in many regions.
低劣的基础建设和医生的紧缺，成了许多地区最大的障碍。
But this is not the only problem.
但这还不是唯一的问题。
In many rural areas with poor education, blindness is often accepted as an inevitable part of aging,
许多偏远地区缺乏教育，失明被认为是变老不可避免的一部分，
for which someone might not think to seek treatment.
所以人们就不会想要去接受治疗。
This is why information is crucial.
这就是为什么信息是极为重要的。
Increased community awareness programs and the spread of mobile phones
增长的社区意识和移动电话的普及，
mean that many of those who might have remained blind for the rest of their lives due to cataracts are now reachable.
意味着那些原本因为白内障可能从此一生都会失明的人，现在可以接触到了。
And for them, a brighter future is in sight.
对他们来说，前方的道路一片光明。
