Suspended Animation  
   
         
   
 

EQUIPMENT

Research and development projects at Suspended Animation are chosen with the goal of improving the quality of stabilization and transport of cryonics patients.

Equipment used by Suspended Animation includes items designed and constructed in-house, existing equipment modified to meet our specific requirements and off-the-shelf technology used in laboratories and hospitals.

Setting up a standby is a significant logistical challenge that must include equipment and supplies needed, ranging from 30 liters (more than 7 gallons) of organ preservation solution to a complete set of appropriate medications and surgical instruments. Everything must be air-transportable, and all equipment must be easy to set up and use.

 
control console
 
ADVANCES IN
LIQUID VENTILATION
A system to cool patients with a chilled breathable liquid has been developed in conjunction with Critical Care Research, the California laboratory that performed the initial research and development on liquid ventilation. As effective as external cooling, it can be set up and applied after cardiac arrest, and can be continued during other stabilization procedures.

Suspended Animation has been testing a prototype of its third-generation liquid ventilation system, which has been designed for human lung capacity. Development will continue to convert this laboratory version to a portable system for use in the field on cryonics cases.

VAN
 
SHORT-RANGE
TRANSPORT VEHICLE
A Dodge Sprinter van (manufactured by Mercedes) is the ideal vehicle for pickup and transport of patients over distances of 200 miles or less. It has a wide side door, allowing easy access for our portable ice bath, with considerable room for standby kit containers and other supplies. It also has a folding ramp and a winch that can pull the ice bath into the vehicle in less than a minute. The vehicle has been customized with thermal insulation, LED lighting, and a pair of Honda generators to power an air conditioner and other equipment inside the van.

This vehicle is now deployed in Southern California.
VAN

 
MOBILE OPERATING ROOM
TRANSPORT VEHICLE
Suspended Animation's second patient transport vehicle is a shuttle bus customized in-house. The vehicle is fitted with a liftgate and has unrestricted access from the cab to the rear area. Its ample space is modified for use as a mobile operating room.

This vehicle is located in Florida.

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PORTABLE
ICE BATH
An ice bath is essential for rapid patient cooling. The bath must hold up to 350 lbs (including the weight of the patient and the ice), must withstand very rough handling during use, and should be deployable as simply as possible, in as many situations as possible. Suspended Animation has developed three different ice-bath designs. The collapsible version, shown here, is intended for air transport as checked baggage. It is fabricated entirely from stainless steel, with detachable wheels and an optional set of fixed legs that fold separately.

Suspended Animation’s stainless steel portable ice bath, which is used for rapid cooling of cryonics patients. The unique design is compact and easy to deploy.
The portable ice bath is shown here without its waterproof, AutoPulse ® compatible liner.


 
PARTIALLY
COLLAPSIBLE ICE BATH
Designed and developed for the Cryonics Institute, the partially collapsible ice bath shown here slides easily into a Chevy Suburban or similar vehicle with limited head room. Loosely based on a typical paramedic stretcher, it is considerably stronger to withstand the additional weight of ice and water and possible use of a Thumper (cardiopulmonary support device) that rests across its rails. The legs flip up as the bath rolls into a vehicle, and flip down when it is removed.



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NON-COLLAPSIBLE
ICE BATH
For use in patient transport vehicles with adequate head room, an ice bath can be entirely rigid without folding legs. This design provides several advantages: The space under the bath itself can be utilized for equipment, and the height of the bath allows comfortable patient access, including surgery where necessary. A noncollapsible bath is also easier to wheel from place to place than a collapsible ice bath that is near floor level.

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The SCPC Mini-Bypass System, shown here with (L-R) the Synthesis C device, drive unit, pump system and control panel.

SCPC Mini-Bypass System
Suspended Animation has selected the Stockert SCPC Mini-Bypass System as its new portable perfusion system to replace the old Air-Transportable Perfusion (ATP) kit.  This compact system is currently in use in many of the world’s leading cardiac care centers and has a number of features to ensure patient safety during perfusion, including automated sensors and controls for pressure, bubble detection and level alarms.  It also has a built-in uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and emergency drive unit.


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Liquid Nitrogen-based Cryoprotectant Chiller
A powerful but compact chiller with a small footprint is desirable for use in the operating room for cooling cryoprotectant perfusion circuits.  Suspended Animation has developed such a chiller about the size of a compact, desktop laser printer.  It is currently in use at SA for cooling a cryoprotection training circuit used with pig cadavers.

The next generation of this chiller may be used for patient cryoprotection in SA's operating room and for field-level cryoprotection in the future.


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AutoPulse ®
Providing effective cardiopulmonary support to cryonics patients is critical for maintaining blood flow feeding cellular metabolism, circulating medications and cooling.  After testing a number of devices, Suspended Animation selected the Zoll AutoPulse® non-invasive cardiac support pump currently in use in many emergency services departments.

The AutoPulse® uses a load distributing compression band around the patient's chest that automatically pumps the heart and circulates blood.  The bands can accommodate both large and small patients as well as fleshy or lean body types.  Set up is as simple as laying the patient on the partial backboard, laying the bands across the chest area and pushing a button to activate the automated adjustment and compression cycling.  The AutoPulse® operates on high-capacity rechargeable batteries and requires no compressed gas or external power for hours of operation.

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Simplified Automated Ventilator (SAVe)

Effective cardiopulmonary support of patients includes proper ventilation. To speed and simplify delivery of proper ventilation and free up team members to perform tasks in addition to just ventilation, Suspended Animation has added the Simplified Automated Ventilator (SAVe) from AutoMedx to its standby kits. Bag valve masks will remain in the kits as backups.

About the size of a large paperback book, the SAVe operates automatically once activated with a single switch. It includes sensors and alarms for disconnects, overpressurization and blockage, and is compatible with impedance threshold and CO2 monitoring devices. Using a pneumatic pump and a long life rechargeable battery, it does not require compressed gas for operation, but oxygen can be added to the ventilation cycle, if desired.


EZIO
 

A NEW INTRAOSSEUS INFUSION DEVICE

Infusing critical medications quickly is now easier with the
EZIOTM in Suspended Animation's standby kits.
Mask

COOLING MASK AND ICE WATER RECIRCULATION SYSTEM
Effective external cooling of the head and body involves flowing ice water continuously over areas with large amounts of blood flow. The Suspended Animation Cooling Mask and Icewater Recirculation System directs large amounts of fast flowing ice water to these critical areas without splashing or spraying.