Our Company
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By specializing in standby, stabilization, and vitrification, Suspended Animation can make faster progress toward enhanced capability than a full-service cryonics organization that must divide its attention over a wider range of tasks.
Mission
Suspended Animation (SA) was established in 2002 in South Florida as a for-profit corporation with the goal of providing the best possible standby, stabilization, and vitrification procedures for members of cryonics organizations. Founders Bill Faloon and Saul Kent believed that if the company did not seek members or provide patient storage, it would be better able to focus on research and development work. Also, if Suspended Animation assisted other organizations instead of attempting to compete with them, cryonics generally would benefit.
The First Two Years
Initially Suspended Animation rented space in Boca Raton, where it installed cryonics-related equipment which it acquired from BioPreservation, Inc, a California company that had offered cryonics services during the 1990s. Suspended Animation hired four full-time employees, including a paramedic and a biologist. The company acquired standby-stabilization supplies and began developing new equipment, including a portable ice bath and a customized cardiopulmonary Thumper from Michigan Instruments to deliver chest compressions in conjunction with the ice bath. Other projects included a low-temperature surgical enclosure and a rapid-cooling enclosure that would also provide cryogenic patient transport.

Work on these projects was interrupted by local zoning issues. In 2004 the company decided to relocate in a more suitable area and signed a lease for a 8000-square-feet unit in Boynton Beach, situated near Interstate 95, less than 15 minutes from Palm Beach International Airport.
Transition Period
In September, 2004 new management established a more specific list of goals for SA:

n Obtain permission from the town of Boynton Beach to do cases and pursue research.
n Finalize architect’s plans for buildout in the new facility.
n Relocate to Boynton Beach.
n Re-evaluate all components of standby kits, and replace or redesign them where necessary.
n Repackage standby equipment for maximum ease of use and efficiency.
n Design and build a more easily collapsible portable ice bath.
n Make multiple standby kits, including one for backup, one for training, and one for predeployment in California.
n Replace an aging ambulance with a modern, custom-equipped transport vehicle.
n Acquire additional assistance from qualified paramedics, nurses, and other medical consultants.
n Establish an ongoing series of training and practice sessions.
n Complete a contractual relationship with the Cryonics Institute of Michigan.
n Develop additional capabilities including liquid ventilation for rapid cooling after cardiac arrest, cryoprotection with vitrification solution in our own operating room, and cryogenic transport of vitrified patients.

Our move to the new building was delayed while we presented our plans to the Commissioners and the Mayor of Boynton Beach. We received final approval by a 4-to-1 vote during a town meeting in February, 2005, and began seeking permits for buildout and renovation of the new facility. We added laboratory areas, an equipment development room, a workshop, and a spacious area for storing standby supplies. All areas of the facility were air conditioned, and space was allocated for indoor vehicle parking.

Meanwhile we had performed a case for the American Cryonics Society, which resulted in cryopreservation of the patient at the Cryonics Institute in October, 2004. A detailed report on this case is available here.

We moved into our new building in mid-2005 and opened our doors to interested visitors for the first time on August 27th, 2005. A year later, despite the disruption of relocation and the establishment of new management, we had achieved most of the goals on our initial list.

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