Suspended Animation is a technique that actually suspends life. The survivor has a temporary suspension of major body functions.
The system is being tested at the University of Maryland and the University of Pittsburgh. “Emergency Protection and Recovery” is the scientific term that created the system. A team of surgeons recently began testing EPR at a hospital in Pittsburgh.
A slight delay in treating a traumatic injury can be the difference between life and death. If surgeons could somehow “stop life” and continue treatment, they would have enough time to recover from their injuries. Presumably, the technique of suspended animation serves that purpose. however, it has not yet been performed in humans.
During the aborted resuscitation process, a condition known as hypothermia is induced, in which the body is bathed in ice-cold water, thus keeping the core body temperature below 10 degrees C.
This reduces the man’s body’s need for oxygen. This is a human form of hibernation, similar to hibernation in animals. It has been used in distressing conditions such as cardiac arrest.
Low temperature conditions only work for a few hours. Our bodies exchange blood with very cold salt water. The cells in our body cannot survive without blood. Blood carries the oxygen necessary for cells to function.
However, at very low temperatures all cellular activity stops and cells can survive without oxygen, without seriously affecting organs or tissues.
Lowering body temperature also prevents further blood loss in stroke patients. If normal temperatures stop blood flow to the brain, the body can be damaged beyond repair. Therefore, it is essential to prevent blood loss.
Medical Procedure Proposed for Suspended Animation
- This procedure is used in patients with deep wounds such as knife or gunshot wounds. Those with heart problems who have lost their breath are also tested here.
- The larger tube is then placed directly into the aorta.
- Because the brain does not survive more than 4 to 5 minutes without blood flow, the administration of cold saline is preferred through the heart to the brain.
- The drug is then exchanged with the blood of the rest of the body.
- Doctors must repair traumatic injuries within two hours because the body cannot remain frozen for more than two hours.
- The saline solution is then replaced with blood again.
If a person’s heart does not start working on its own, it can be revived with cardiopulmonary bypass. This technique was used on 40 pigs by Peter Rhee in 2000. The wound issues were reproduced in pigs. Pig body temperature was lowered to perform suspended animations.
As a result, 90% of the pigs in the experimental group survived, while all the pigs in the experimental group died. The remaining pigs were completely healthy with no physical or cognitive abnormalities.
So far no one has been tested. Screening is useful when the right patients have access to surgeons.
