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 legs that fold separately.

When the Cryonics Institute asked us to develop a design that would slide as easily as possible into a Chevy Suburban or similar vehicle with limited head room, we built the partially collapsible ice bath shown here. Loosely based on a typical paramedic stretcher, it is considerably stronger to withstand the additional weight of ice and water and the possible use of a Thumper that rests across its rails. The legs flip up as the bath rolls into a vehicle, and flip down when it is removed.

For our own patient transport vehicles, or any other vehicle with a ramp or lift gate and 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 (such as a liquid ventilation system), 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.

The Michigan Instruments Thumper is designed to apply chest compressions via a gas-driven piston, for use during cardiopulmonary support. Suspended Animation commissioned a new design of the Thumper to fit the rails of our ice bath. The Thumper can be supported by an optional stand if the ice bath is unavailable. A large Pelican container lined with custom-contoured foam is used to transport the Thumper and its stand together with accessories for airway management.

For rapid initial cooling of a patient, melting ice should be applied directly to the skin, while a pump must be used to recirculate icewater over key areas such as the head and neck. Unlike most sump pumps which require either 110-volt alternating current or a large 12-volt battery, ours uses just three D cells which are contained inside the unit, making it easily portable while still providing sufficient flow. Sections of perforated tubing distribute water over the patient.