This technique works on an acute timescale of half an hour to an hour or two, and slows the rate of injury accumulation and helps eliminate reperfusion injury. I'm not quite happy with calling it suspension. It's basically an attempt to replicate what's already been done for some time in delicate brain surgery in less controlled conditions. I don't think it has anything to do with more speculative longer term things like cryonics.
I'm not quite happy with calling it suspension.
I'm happy calling the stuff done for delicate brain surgery 'suspension,' but I'm not very careful with my medical vocabulary. Is there some distinguishing feature you think it lacks?
I don't think it has anything to do with more speculative longer term things like cryonics.
The people who are doing this are quick to disassociate themselves from scifi things- if they don't even like the name suspended animation, then they're surely not going to like a comparison to cryonics. But this becoming a routine re...
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129623.000-gunshot-victims-to-be-suspended-between-life-and-death.html?full=true
- First "official" program to practice suspended animation
- The article naturally goes on to ask whether longer SA (months, years) is possible
- Amazing quote: "Every day at work I declare people dead. They have no signs of life, no heartbeat, no brain activity. I sign a piece of paper knowing in my heart that they are not actually dead. I could, right then and there, suspend them. But I have to put them in a body bag. It's frustrating to know there's a solution."
- IMO this if (I hope!) successful, will go a long way to bridge the emotional gap for cryonics