Newsletter No. 283

第二八三期　二零零六年九月十九日 No. 283 19th September 2006 5 中耳炎會引致聽力損失 Otitis Media with Effusion 「弧飛」協助開發具中國特色電子遊戲 自 動化與計算機輔助工程學系研發了 富有中國特色的遊戲開發系統（弧 飛－Curvair），協助業界開發更逼真動人 的電子遊戲。 弧飛系統在塑造遊戲角色時，採用自動化 與計算機輔助工程學系許健泉教授研發 的技術「雙曲線軸心表示法」（Curve-Pair Based Axial Representation），來模擬衣 服布幔的移動，角色無需再以硬繃繃的盔 甲示人，可輕易創造出如小龍女般有飄逸 衣服效果的角色。弧飛尚包含一系列工 具，協助遊戲設計員迅速繪畫出華麗的中 國式宮廷建築、古代英雄和他們的表情 等。 根據中國網統計資料顯示，中國網路遊戲 市場在短短數年間，已由二零零零年的三 千萬元人民幣，增至二零零五年的五十五 億四千萬元，二零零六年更將達八十三億 四千萬元。要在中外遊戲廠商激烈競爭下 爭取市場，開發具原創內容的遊戲成為業 內企業發展的重點。 弧飛是多元化和富中國特色的立體電腦遊 戲設計系統，既切合現時內地遊戲市場的 要求，更可輕易成為相容新式遊戲設計技 術的基本平台。 這個項目得到中國遊戲工作委員會香港聯 會、智傲網絡遊戲集團有限公司和香港政 府創新科技基金撥款資助，而香港生產力 促進局和香港數碼娛樂業支援中心協助推 廣「弧飛」予業界。 「弧飛」的詳細資料，可瀏覽 http://www. acae.cuhk.edu.hk/~cad/Curvair 。 T he Department of Automation and Computer-Aided Engineering (ACAE) of CUHK announced the completion of an advanced 3D game development system named Curvair . One major breakthrough introduced by Curvair is the use of Curve-Pair Based Axial RepresentationdevelopedbyProf. K.C. Hui from the ACAE Department. While currently most computer games equip characters with heavy amour or tight clothes to simplify the characters’ movements, the new technique allows designers to dress characters in long gowns or robes using a model that resembles the wavy movements of real cloth. Curvair also provides a series of characters, models of Chinese buildings, and a facial expression editor for easy construction of Chinese-style computer games. According to the statistics from www. china.org.cn , China’s Internet game market has grown from 0.30 million RMB in 2000 to 5.54 billion RMB in 2005, and is expected to reach 8.34 billion RMB in 2006. Those who intend 許健泉教授（右二）、楊守能先生（右一）和弧飛開發隊伍。 Prof. K.C. Hui (right 2), Mr. Vincent Yeung (right 1) and members of the Curvair team to compete in the Chinese game market may have to focus on the development of original content that are related to Chinese culture. Curvair simplifies the development of Chinese-style games and can be easily incorporated into other existing game development platforms. The project has received funding support from China Game Publishers’ Association (Hong Kong), Gameone Online Entertainment Group Limited, and the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF). TheHongKongProductivity Council and Digital Entertainment Industry Support Centre (ISC) also help to promote Curvair to local industry. Amongst other activities such as seminars andworkshops, a 3D character design competition is under planning wherein participants will be able to obtain first-hand experience in using Curvair . For more information about Curvair , please visit http://www.acae.cuhk.edu. hk/~cad/Curvair. 家長憑觀察兒童的聽力損傷而發現中耳積 液的敏感度是較低 (19.7%)。若單靠父母 觀察，最少有八成病童會錯過及早診治。 研究又發現，若兒童有敏感、弱聽、鼻 塞、打鼻鼾、曾患扁桃腺炎及急性中耳 炎，他們患中耳積液的可能性就相對較 高。當中尤以鼻塞、曾患急性扁桃腺炎及 急性中耳炎的情況更為嚴重。中大醫學院 建議，若兒童有一項或以上的風險因素， 應進行檢測。該院將進行第二期的研究， 長期跟進患有中耳積液的兒童，以了解長 期患病的後果和這病症在流行病學上的改 變。 O titis media with effusion (OME) refers to the condition when body fluid accumulates in the middle ear cavity without signs of acute inflammation. This condition is most prevalent in preschool children (2- 6 years old). In the majority of these children the condition resolves itself without treatment. However in a small proportion of them, it persists, resulting in mild to moderate hearing impairment, and in the long term, permanent damage to middle ear structures. Diagnosis is based on both clinical and audiological assessments. However, the sensitivity of parent- suspected hearing impairment to OME detection was very low (19.7%), says Prof. Michael Tong ( middle ), chief of otorhinolaryngology, CUHK. ‘If we rely on parental suspicion alone to identify OME, at least 80% of the cases would have been missed.’ He also explained that failing to make an early diagnosis may cause permanent damage to middle ear structure which results in hearing loss. CUHK has been conducting a large- scale OME research on 6,872 children since 1995. The research was carried out by theDivision of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Surgery. The study revealed that the younger the children, the higher the risk they are diagnosed with OME. Comparison between data for Hong Kong and Western popula- tion shows a similar prevalence of the disease and risk factors. Children are prone to OME if they are associated with the following: atopy, symptom of hearing loss, nasal obstruction, snoring at night, tonsillitis in the past 12 months, and previous history of acute otitis media. In particular, nasal obstruction, acute tonsillitis in the last 12 months, previous acute otitis media were found to be of relatively higher significance. Prior to this on-going epidemiology study, the prevalence of OME was perceived to be low in Hong Kong compared to the West. Children with one or more of these risk factors are suggested to undergo screening for this condition. In the second phase of the study, CUHK will conduct a long term follow-up of children with OME. This will help researchers to understand the long term consequence and change in epidemiology of OME. for Fast Design and Production of 中 大醫學院自一九九五年起，為六 千八百多名兒童進行了大型中耳 積液研究。結果發現，在二至三歲、四 至五歲及六至七歲的研究對象中，他們 的中耳積液發病率依次為21.6%，7.1%及 5.2%，顯示兒童年紀越小，患中耳積液 的可能性就越高。在這項研究以前，醫學 界認為香港兒童的中耳積液發病率比西方 國家的為低，研究結果則顯示彼此的發病 率及風險因素相若。 中耳積液指中耳腔在沒有急性炎症徵狀下積 聚了體液，在二至六歲的學前兒童最常見。 大部分病童可自行痊癒，但少數患者會因病 況持續而導致輕度至中度聽力受損，嚴重的 甚至令中耳結構永久損害。中耳積液可以 透過臨床及聽力評估診斷出來。 醫學院外科學系耳鼻喉科主任唐志輝教授 　 表示，雖然說香港的發病率不高，但 （ 中 ）