NEW CLIENTS

Suspended Animation added 17 new clients over the past year. 

Welcome aboard everyone!

NEW STANDBY TEAM TRAINING

Last December, Suspended Animation began developing a pig cadaver training model for cryonics procedures.  Throughout 2008, SA worked with a USDA-certified facility and a large animal veterinarian to refine that model and the training protocol to create a realistic, hands-on experience using SA’s equipment and stabilization procedures.  SA is now ready to begin rotating our extended network of standby team members through this new training that covers all procedures from pronouncement through washout and perfusion with organ preservation solution.

MORE TRAINING

In addition to the work on pig cadavers, SA staff completed training on the I-STAT blood analyzer and the EZ IOÒ intraosseous infusion device.  Two staff members received additional surgical training and two staff members received initial training on the Portable Partial Liquid Ventilation Device.

SA STAFF BECOME EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS
SA staff member Kelly Kingston completed her training and became a board certified EMT in 2008.  Staff member Ken Schroeder has completed his EMT training and will sit for his board exams after the holidays.  Staff member Piotr Ruc begins his EMT training in January, 2009.  SA’s standby team, including staff, now consists of 36 members, 18 of whom have cryonics case experience.  The team includes five EMTs, four paramedics, two physicians, a nurse, six research surgeons, and nine perfusionists.

PDC PERFUSION SERVICES

CRYONICS CASEWORK

SA was called to assist an Alcor member in Florida on three separate occasions.  In March, SA deployed a team for a 24 hour standby.  In April the team was deployed again for a 12 hour standby.  In May, Alcor requested another SA standby and the patient died within moments of the call.  At Alcor’s request, SA performed basic stabilization procedures and prepared the patient for transport on ice via the first available commercial flight.  The case summary is on Alcor’s website:  Alcor Case Summary A-1831

EQUIPMENT DEVELOPMENT

E450 TRANSPORT VEHICLE

SA’s second patient transport vehicle, modified and equipped to be a mobile operating room, is now complete.  Major modifications made this year included the addition of a rear lift gate, automated side access stairs, surgical lighting on a custom powered rail system, suction and water systems, a hands-free scrub sink, easy-to-clean custom roll door cabinets, battery backup system (in addition to generator), and a built-in, dual-purpose seating area with ice storage beneath it.  Roomy and comfortable, it easily accommodates the patient ice bath and four to six team members working on the patient simultaneously.

PORTABLE PARTIAL LIQUID VENTILATION (PPLV)

Over the course of 2008, additional testing and modifications were made to the third generation of the PPLV device with the goal of transforming a lab-based research device into a field-deployable machine. 

Major modifications included a new control panel, higher volume, more accurate pumps, pinch valves for better flow control, configuring the device to fit into two large Pelican cases, breaking parts down into easier to assemble modules, and an AC-DC converter.  In animal testing, this device produced cooling rates averaging more than 1 degree Celsius per minute in the first five minutes. 

Work continues to refine the device for human use on cryonics cases.

LIQUID NITROGEN-BASED CRYOPROTECTANT CHILLER

An efficient chiller with the smallest footprint possible is desirable for a cryoprotection operating room environment and is especially important if cryoprotection is to ever be available in the field.

In 2007, a prototype of a compact, liquid nitrogen-based chiller was developed for cooling cryoprotectant circuits.  In 2008, SA continued developing a second and third generation of this chiller to make it smaller, more efficient, more rugged, and to incorporate electronics to allow LabView to control its functions.

The LabView program and chiller have been tested successfully in a lab model cryoprotection system and in a pig cadaver cryoprotectant perfusion experiment in November.

CRYOPROTECTION SYSTEM

For testing of the chiller and to begin gaining experience with basic cryoprotection in pig cadavers, SA has been developing a simple cryoprotection system.  The system incorporates the new chiller for cooling, in-line refractometers to monitor cryoprotectant concentration, circuit pressure sensors, liquid nitrogen dewar weight sensors to monitor coolant consumption, and various temperature sensors.  LabView software runs chiller control and all the sensor data are collected and graphed by LabView in real time.  In 2009, SA plans to begin adding more LabView controllers and automation to the system.

PATIENT COOLING

Early in the year, SA tested and continued refinement of the aluminum whole-body rapid cooldown box adapted from earlier designs.  Out of this work came a custom manifold designed to simplify liquid nitrogen (LN2) dewar switching and a custom LabView computer program.  The LabView program allows remote monitoring and control of the cooldown box by automating addition of LN2 to the chamber and recording data from all internal temperature probes.  It also incorporates alarms for temperatures outside of acceptable range.

The whole-body rapid cooldown box and its predecessors utilized a spray or atomized liquid nitrogen directly over the patient for cooling.  With the idea that the cooling enclosure might also be used for transporting a patient at an intermediate temperature between the glass transition point and liquid nitrogen temperature, several new designs using internal, closed radiator-type systems for distributing liquid nitrogen inside the box were tested to improve efficiency, both optimizing cooling and reducing coolant use.

Development and testing of a patient pod with active cooling to eliminate patient exposure to ambient temperature during the move from the cooling box to a transport vessel or a liquid nitrogen dewar are also underway.  Incorporating this design into a combined surgical cooldown enclosure for use with the pig cryoprotection system is also under development.

NEW EQUIPMENT

SAVe AUTOMATED VENTILATOR

This compact electronic device automates patient ventilation with proper pressures and intervals to avoid hyperventilation and hyperbaric injury common even with professionals handling a bag-valve mask.  By automating this function, SA eliminates over bagging problems and a team member otherwise dedicated to ventilating the patient is free to assist with other tasks.  The SAVe can run for several hours on a single charge of its rechargeable batteries with no compressed gas required, although oxygen can be added to the ventilation cycle. Designed for military field use, the SAVe is the size of large paperback book and operates using a single switch.  It’s also compatible with impedance threshold valve and CO2 monitoring devices.

STOCKERT SCPC MINI-BYPASS SYSTEM

After reviewing a number of systems, SA has selected the Stockert SCPC Mini-Bypass system to replace the Air Transportable Perfusion system.  The SCPC represents state-of-the-art perfusion technology and is currently in use in the top cardiac centers around the world.  With all digital, automated controls and virtually no assembly required for use, the system integrates a number of critical patient safety features such as bubble detection, high and low level alarms, and circuit pressure control.  The system also has its own uninterruptible power supply and an emergency pump driver.  About the size of a small desktop computer case, the compact system will be incorporated into SA‘s standby kits and training.