Tetronian comments on Cryonics on Castle [Spoilers] - Less Wrong

25 Post author: wedrifid 04 October 2011 09:46AM

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Comment author: [deleted] 04 October 2011 09:18:46PM *  11 points [-]

The patients have heart rate monitors with GPS signalers that signal the cryonics company as soon as the patient flatlines.

Oh wow, this is massively obvious in retrospect. Does anyone know if anything like this actually exists?

Comment author: ciphergoth 31 March 2012 03:48:32PM *  3 points [-]

No. Ben Best has been trying to build a device like this for years (link from downthread); people very often say to him that it should be easy, but he never sees a finished prototype.

Comment author: [deleted] 04 October 2011 10:30:51PM 2 points [-]

You know, in telemetry units in hospitals, most of the time a flatline means a lead came off, or something is unplugged. Lots of false positives could be an issue.

Comment author: JoshuaZ 04 October 2011 09:29:39PM 2 points [-]

I'm not sure this is actually helpful. If the cryonics team isn't anywhere nearby having this information may very well translate close to "well, we're not getting that one." It would help but probably only in marginal cases. Still, could be potentially quite useful. There have been cases where a team has been on standby due to someone's ill health or is getting ready to go on standby and the person dies slightly earlier than expected. My impression is that in those cases they've generally still managed to preserve the patients fairly quickly. But we don't know how quick it needs to be. This could be the sort of thing where even small amounts of time could matter.

Comment author: wedrifid 05 October 2011 05:53:50AM 1 point [-]

I'm not sure this is actually helpful. If the cryonics team isn't anywhere nearby having this information may very well translate close to "well, we're not getting that one."

Good thing there are telephones, ambulances and the possibility for neighbors or nearby friends to be emergency contacts. Add an enormously loud physical alarm to the device and anyone dying in their sleep who isn't living alone can have immediate attention of their housemates or family.

I'd expect such a system to occasionally save lives even apart from cryonic considerations and there would be a whole bunch of people who get chilled more rapidly.

Comment author: [deleted] 04 October 2011 10:02:50PM 1 point [-]

Currently? No.