At Suspended Animation, (SA), we used to have these staff meetings, where we discussed the on-going projects. Whenever someone objected to any of the projects, the discussion went pretty much nowhere. (And, no, I wasn't the only person objecting to Platt's projects, cryonicists Sullivan and de Wolf frequently had the same objections.) I don't know why we ever bothered to complain, as it was pointless. All that resulted was a lot of cowardly subversion, with Platt recruiting some of his highly-paid RUP's to help him (sometimes secretly) continue the projects, and somehow convincing Kent they were being productive. It's pretty much the same situation, on this forum. I come here and make valid arguments against what SA is doing, and Platt takes impressionable people behind the scenes, in private emails, where no one can refute his claims, and I end up fighting a never-ending battle of one "Luke" at a time. That's in addition to the lies that were told about me, and the personal attacks that were made on me, (and, that's pretty much the same as what went on, at SA, too...Sullivan, de Wolf and I, (and even some of the RUP's, on occasion), were frequent targets of character assassinations).
I've tried to walk away from cryonics, several times. When I quit SA, I didn't have anything to say about them, (other than to my husband and a couple of cryo-friends), for more than four months. I had other dragons to slay, and I really just wanted to put the stupidity of it all (SA) behind me. But, every day I thought about it...about how they were lying about their capabilities, and about how I felt Platt had totally, and absolutely, resisted any change that might have resulted in him logging fewer $50 hours, even if it would have meant we would have been taking steps toward a better level of patient care, and I got more and more angry, until I could no longer ignore the situation.
At some point, I realized how harshly I had treated a couple of people at SA, who are just ordinary people making a lot of money doing what their bosses have told them to do, and I tried to walk away, again. Then, I realized, (all over again), that maintaining the salaries of a few unqualified people does not justify harming patients, not even "legally dead" ones. Some of the people at SA are quite intelligent and talented in other areas, but they don't have the backgrounds required to carry out the procedures SA is selling, and I don't think the cryonics industry should suffer, so that these people can maintain their lifestyles. SA needs experienced people who can gain IV access on patients with no blood pressure, perform femoral cannulations and competently perform perfusion. With the money they have at their disposal, there's no excuse for them to be sending unskilled patient care providers.
Platt, de Wolf and I, (who were all at SA, together), could have probably rocked the world of cryonics, if he hadn't seen Aschwin and me as "the enemy." I had a lot of knowledge about the procedures we were supposed to be doing, Aschwin's talents are obvious on his "Depressed Metabolism" blog, and in addition to his writing and computer-related skills, Platt had a lot of influence with Kent. Unfortunately, Platt didn't want anything to change, at SA, and he fought everything Aschwin and I tried to do, "tooth and nail." Apparently, he was afraid that, if his amateur design and fabrication projects dried up, he would be out of a good income, though I don't think that's true. Platt probably believed deWolf and I simply wanted to get rid of him, but that's not true, either, (at least it wasn't, in the beginning). We just wanted him to do things differently, in ways that didn't defy common sense.
If I had it to do all over again, I would ask Kent AND Faloon to come spend a week in a room with Platt, de Wolf and me, and I would bring along a lot of documentation, and maybe even a medical professional, or two. Unfortunately, we can't go back to that time, and I don't seem to be able to let it go, and I'm really getting tired of fighting this battle one "Luke" at a time, with Platt always behind the scenes. Regardless, I won't walk away, again. I may walk in a new direction, but I won't walk away.
Now, my apologies to the moderator...As I recall, I'm not supposed to mention the name "Platt," but that is what this situation with Luke is all about. It's a replay of the situation, at SA, with me standing in the middle of the room, publicly stating SA's projects are beyond misguided and the cryo-equivalent of medical malpractice, and Platt taking people behind the scenes and convincing them, one at a time, that all is good. There's a reason people like Kent, Baldwin, and Platt won't publicly respond to my accusations of incompetence, and that reason should be quite obvious, to everyone.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
"Warts and All" - Cryonics Case Reports
This post is dedicated to Saul Kent.
"As to your question of whether Saul Kent wants case reports on cryonics standby cases done, if you have to ask, you don't know the man. For a time, several years ago during the Waynick Alcor administration, Kent actually offered cash bounties out of his own pocket for full Alcor case reports to be done and published. This resulted in some getting done, but others are still hanging fire even now, and quite a lot of this bounty money still remains collectable but uncollected-- a matter of some thousands of dollars. If you want to know the details of why not, you can ask Alcor; that story is not mine to tell. However, suffice to say that SA case reports will certainly be done, warts and all. Everyone at SA understands how critical such things are, for quality control reasons. That includes, perhaps more than anyone else, Saul Kent."
Steve Harris
http://www.network54.com/Forum/291677/message/1183001909/3+weeks%2C+and+still+no+SA+case+report%3B+somebody+call+the+police.
(A special thanks, to "Phil," for reminding me of this Harris post.)
Today is September 3, 2009, and Suspended Animation, Inc., (a company funded by LEF/Kent), has yet to publish a case report for Curtis Henderson (CI-95), for the procedures an SA team performed on Mr. Henderson, June 25th, more than two months ago.
Since Phil reminded me of the Harris remarks, others have verified that Kent has often criticized Alcor for not producing timely case reports. One person maintains that some of the reports were produced, but didn't live up to Kent's standards. They seem to think he would prefer something like one of Platt's monstrosities, filled with irrelevant subjective material, to an objective reporting of the facts.
Thus far, most cryonics case reports have been subjective, rambling narratives, of little merit. Subjective reporting is "sometimes completely false, and "destructive in decision making," while objective information is "as close to the truth as we can get," and "helpful in decision making. http://www.asdatoz.com/Documents/Website-%20Objective%20vs%20subjective%20ltr.pdf
We didn't need to know most of the information in SA's CI-81 case report. We didn't need to know one of the people who didn't show up had a job at a local supermarket, or that a former employee wasn't there because she "refused to make herself available to assist in future cases even as an independent contractor," (especially since that last part was untrue...I am the "former employee" being referred to, and as I recall, no one ever asked me to take call as an independent contractor).
We didn't need speculations like: "The batteries in one of the voice recorders may have lost their charge as a result of someone failing to switch off the recorder after a practice session." That wasn't a fact, it was nothing more than a lame excuse for showing up with dead batteries. Cryonics case reports are rife with lame excuses, like this.
Case reports shouldn't include discussions about equipment that isn't even brought to the case, or remarks about the team members being best buddies. You won't read, "Though rewarming from 18-degrees C, took a long time, the heart team all got along well, with the perfusionist and surgeon amusing the other team members with off-color jokes," in a heart surgery case report, though something like that probably happens, a lot, near the end of profound hypothermia cases.
You will see the "warts." You'll read about the time a scrub nurse accidentally threw a vessel intended for a graft off the table and the patient's leg had to be reopened. You'll read about the anesthesia nurse who inappropriately applied pressure to a transfusion bag and filled the patient's heart with air, causing him to "crash and burn" and requiring him to be placed back on the heart-lung machine. (The patient lived to tell about it, because the anesthesia nurse admitted to what he had done, the second he saw the patient's pressure drop and realized what had happened.)
Medical case reports are not intended to be "stories," they are meant to convey a factual representation of the case. They serve several purposes, one of which is to facilitat comparing cases. It should be obvious that the only way to do this is to have uniform reports. It's not as easy to compare the apples in Chef A's Cajun Apple Cobbler, to the apples in Chef B's Apple Walnut Celebration Pie, as it is to compare apples used in identical recipes.
There should be standardized forms, for cryonics case reporting. Aschwin de Wolf and I tried to establish this, at SA, and we caught no small amount of hell, for doing so, from a man who has probably billed cryonics organizations for quite a number of his hours for writing rambling, subjective case reports that contain more "padding" than any professor teaching freshman "Comp and Rhetoric" courses probably sees, in an entire year.
In heart surgery, (something much more complex than a cryonics washout procedure), the reports are in a standard form, and produced immediately after the procedure, by the medical personnel involved in the case, (not three months later, by a science fiction writer who wasn't even present for the case).
I can look at any heart surgery case report and tell a lot about the case, immediately. I can tell you who the personnel were, when the first incision was made, when they went "on pump," when the cross-clamp was applied to the aorta, when they started cooling, how many grafts were done, where each graft came from and where it was placed, when they started warming and how long it took, exactly what medications were administered (including the amounts and time of administration), and a lot of other information about the case, the most important being variations from the norm.
From the perfusion record, I can tell you the perfusion flow rates, a number of temperatures, patient pressures, perfusion circuit pressures, arterial and venous blood gases, how much oxygen was being applied, ACT's, HCT's, (all of these, at approximately ten-minute intervals, throughout the pump (perfusion) run), and more, including how long the patient was "on pump," how much fluid was added, (or removed), etc.
From the anesthesia record, I can tell you everything you want to know about the medications that were administered by the anesthesia team, and a vast amount of information regarding the patient's condition, throughout the case.
A lot of the information will be duplicated on all the records. For instance, the "on pump," "cross-clamp," and "off-pump" times will be called out, and documented by anesthesia, the perfusionist, and the circulating nurse. (The surgeon will ask for those times, (and other information), before he does his dictation.
And, one more thing...there should not be any photos. I believe publishing images of themselves in scrubs, attempting to perform medical procedures they don't really know how to do, probably helps some of the people working in cryonics to maintain the illusion, (or self-delusion), that they really are medical professionals, when most of them are incompetent to the point of inflicting a tremendous amount of harm on their patients.
So, Mr. Kent, if you want timely and productive case reports, you should hire some medical professionals who actually know how to perform the procedures you are selling, at SA. Then, your personnel would be capable of properly documenting the procedures, and producing timely reports that could be used to compare cases. On the other hand, if you want to be entertained by a rambling, inaccurate narrative, with a lot of extraneous information, hire a fiction writer who will make up a story based on information he receives from care providers who don't really know what they are doing. OH...wait...you already made that decision.
So, Mr. Kent, if you want timely and productive case reports, you should hire some medical professionals who actually know how to perform the procedures you are selling, at SA. Then, your personnel would be capable of properly documenting the procedures, and producing timely reports that could be used to compare cases. On the other hand, if you want to be entertained by a rambling, inaccurate narrative, with a lot of extraneous information, hire a fiction writer who will make up a story based on information he receives from care providers who don't really know what they are doing. OH...wait...you already made that decision.
I think LEF/Saul Kent are excellent proof that people don't always get what they pay for. LEF could fund competent medical care, for a lot less than what is being spent at SA.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Embalming and Cryonics
Embalm:
1 : to treat (a dead body) so as to protect from decay
2 : to fill with sweet odors : perfume
3 : to protect from decay or oblivion : preserve
4 : to fix in a static condition
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/embalming
Are Alcor and Suspended Animation illegally "embalming"? (Cryonics Institute is licensed as a cemetery. Their procedures are conducted at a licensed funeral establishment, under the supervision of a licensed funeral director/embalmer, and monitored by the State of Michigan.)
Alcor and Suspended Animation may attempt to defend their activities by calling their procedures "medical research," but I believe any state board familiar with what they are doing, and the qualifications, (or lack thereof), of their care providers, will agree with me that their activities cannot be qualified as "medical research." I say they are (possibly illegally) preserving dead bodies, (embalming).
After a little research, I have ascertained that embalmers must be licensed in all 50 states. I am not going to research the regulations of all 50 states, but the states I have researched all require a formal education, (some from 2 - 4 years), an internship, (most of at least one year), and passing a local and/or national certification exam. Violation of embalming regulations result in possible jail time and/or fines, for each incident, in all of the states I have researched.
After the Dora Kent case, Alcor was accused of murder, illegally practicing medicine, and the theft of equipment from UCLA. None of these accusations held up, but as far as I know, they have never been accused of illegally embalming, a charge I believe would hold up.
As for SA, not only might they be illegally embalming, but in recent years, they have had laymen, (people who would not be allowed to legally administer drugs to patients, or embalm), traveling across state lines, carrying regulated medications, in order to do so.
From Florida Statute 497.368, (with emphasis added):
497.368 Embalmers; licensure as an embalmer by examination; provisional license.--
(1) Any person desiring to be licensed as an embalmer shall apply to the licensing authority to take the licensure examination. The licensing authority shall examine each applicant who has remitted an examination fee set by rule of the licensing authority not to exceed $200 plus the actual per applicant cost to the licensing authority for portions of the examination and who has:
(a) Completed the application form and remitted a nonrefundable application fee set by the licensing authority not to exceed $200.
(b) Submitted proof satisfactory to the licensing authority that the applicant is at least 18 years of age and is a recipient of a high school degree or equivalent.
(c) Made disclosure of the applicant's criminal records, if any, as required by s. 497.142. The applicant shall submit fingerprints in accordance with s. 497.142. The applicant may not be licensed under this section unless the licensing authority determines the applicant is of good character and has no demonstrated history of lack of trustworthiness or integrity in business or professional matters.
(d) Completed a course in mortuary science approved by the licensing authority, which course embraces, at least, the following subjects: theory and practice of embalming, restorative art, pathology, anatomy, microbiology, chemistry, hygiene, and public health and sanitation.
(e) Submitted proof of completion of a course on communicable diseases approved by the licensing authority.
(2) The licensing authority shall license the applicant as an embalmer if the applicant:
(a) Passes an examination on the subjects of the theory and practice of embalming, restorative art, pathology, anatomy, microbiology, chemistry, hygiene, public health and sanitation, and local, state, and federal laws and rules relating to the disposition of dead human bodies; however, there may by rule be approved by the licensing authority the use of a national examination, such as the embalming examination prepared by the Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards, in lieu of part of this examination requirement; and
(b) Completes a 1-year internship under a licensed embalmer.
(3) Any applicant who has completed the required 1-year internship and has been approved for examination as an embalmer may qualify for a provisional license to work in a licensed funeral establishment, under the direct supervision of a licensed embalmer for a limited period of 6 months as provided by rule of the licensing authority. The fee for provisional licensure shall be set by rule of the licensing authority, but may not exceed $200, and shall be nonrefundable and in addition to the fee required in subsection (1). This provisional license may be renewed no more than one time.
From Arizona Statute 32-1322 B, (with emphasis added):
B. An applicant for licensure as an embalmer shall:
1. Pass the funeral service science section of the national board examination or the state equivalent examination.
2. Pass the embalmer state laws and rules examination.
3. Be of good moral character.
4. Have been licensed as an intern for at least one year.
5. Have successfully completed an internship program that included assisting in the embalming of at least twenty-five dead human bodies.
These are just the regulations in Alcor and SA's home states. Both organizations have traveled outside their states, to perform procedures. Call me "overly cautious," but if I were managing a cryonics facility, I would do anything, and everything, to comply with state and federal regulations, for fear of negligence, or illegal activities, shutting down the entire cryonics industry. People working in cryonics aren't going to be able to put on their scrubs, or white lab coats, and believe this transforms them into professionals capable of performing advanced medical procedures, or gives them the authority to do things like declare people dead and commence preservation procedures, forever. Eventually, someone will stop these behaviors, and it won't be pretty, for the cryonics industry, as a whole.
If I were Bill Faloon, or Saul Kent, I would take part of the ~$2M a year I was spending for a lot of unqualified personnel and questionable "research," at SA and CCR, and spend it on establishing relationships with licensed embalmers in all the states in which I had clients. Better yet, I would investigate whether it was possible to acquire embalmers who are licensed in multiple states. While I was doing this, I would have a team investigating how to move the procedures into mainstream medicine, where they could be carried out by vascular surgeons, perfusionists, and other competent, qualified, medical personnel.
I believe LEF is supporting ten employees at SA and CCR, combined. When I resigned from SA, there were seven of us, all putting in 40-hour weeks, plus at least one consultant who told me he was allowed to log 160 hours per month. Taking into consideration that the SA employees are allowed four weeks of vacation, per year, that was approximately 15,360 man hours, per year. I've been there, and I feel an EXTREMELY large percentage, (the vast majority, in my opinion), of those hours were absolutely wasted. I felt some people were being paid to do absolutely nothing, with most of their time, and half the man-hours were being used on questionable "design and fabrication" projects.
SA has the time, and the money, to provide the services they offer in a professional and ethical manner. Yet they continue wasting all their valuable time and money attempting to train layman to perform medical procedures they will not be able to master without extensive, properly-supervised clinical experience, and designing and fabricating equipment of questionable merit. Bill and Saul, (or their extremely well-paid management), should really focus on researching ways to provide their services, competently, and in a manner that won't result in more trouble for the cryonics industry.
As "FD" recently suggested on the Cold Filter forum, and as I have suggested, many times, in the past, if the cryonics organizations don't regulate themselves, someone is going to do it for them.
1 : to treat (a dead body) so as to protect from decay
2 : to fill with sweet odors : perfume
3 : to protect from decay or oblivion : preserve
4 : to fix in a static condition
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/embalming
Are Alcor and Suspended Animation illegally "embalming"? (Cryonics Institute is licensed as a cemetery. Their procedures are conducted at a licensed funeral establishment, under the supervision of a licensed funeral director/embalmer, and monitored by the State of Michigan.)
Alcor and Suspended Animation may attempt to defend their activities by calling their procedures "medical research," but I believe any state board familiar with what they are doing, and the qualifications, (or lack thereof), of their care providers, will agree with me that their activities cannot be qualified as "medical research." I say they are (possibly illegally) preserving dead bodies, (embalming).
After a little research, I have ascertained that embalmers must be licensed in all 50 states. I am not going to research the regulations of all 50 states, but the states I have researched all require a formal education, (some from 2 - 4 years), an internship, (most of at least one year), and passing a local and/or national certification exam. Violation of embalming regulations result in possible jail time and/or fines, for each incident, in all of the states I have researched.
After the Dora Kent case, Alcor was accused of murder, illegally practicing medicine, and the theft of equipment from UCLA. None of these accusations held up, but as far as I know, they have never been accused of illegally embalming, a charge I believe would hold up.
As for SA, not only might they be illegally embalming, but in recent years, they have had laymen, (people who would not be allowed to legally administer drugs to patients, or embalm), traveling across state lines, carrying regulated medications, in order to do so.
From Florida Statute 497.368, (with emphasis added):
497.368 Embalmers; licensure as an embalmer by examination; provisional license.--
(1) Any person desiring to be licensed as an embalmer shall apply to the licensing authority to take the licensure examination. The licensing authority shall examine each applicant who has remitted an examination fee set by rule of the licensing authority not to exceed $200 plus the actual per applicant cost to the licensing authority for portions of the examination and who has:
(a) Completed the application form and remitted a nonrefundable application fee set by the licensing authority not to exceed $200.
(b) Submitted proof satisfactory to the licensing authority that the applicant is at least 18 years of age and is a recipient of a high school degree or equivalent.
(c) Made disclosure of the applicant's criminal records, if any, as required by s. 497.142. The applicant shall submit fingerprints in accordance with s. 497.142. The applicant may not be licensed under this section unless the licensing authority determines the applicant is of good character and has no demonstrated history of lack of trustworthiness or integrity in business or professional matters.
(d) Completed a course in mortuary science approved by the licensing authority, which course embraces, at least, the following subjects: theory and practice of embalming, restorative art, pathology, anatomy, microbiology, chemistry, hygiene, and public health and sanitation.
(e) Submitted proof of completion of a course on communicable diseases approved by the licensing authority.
(2) The licensing authority shall license the applicant as an embalmer if the applicant:
(a) Passes an examination on the subjects of the theory and practice of embalming, restorative art, pathology, anatomy, microbiology, chemistry, hygiene, public health and sanitation, and local, state, and federal laws and rules relating to the disposition of dead human bodies; however, there may by rule be approved by the licensing authority the use of a national examination, such as the embalming examination prepared by the Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards, in lieu of part of this examination requirement; and
(b) Completes a 1-year internship under a licensed embalmer.
(3) Any applicant who has completed the required 1-year internship and has been approved for examination as an embalmer may qualify for a provisional license to work in a licensed funeral establishment, under the direct supervision of a licensed embalmer for a limited period of 6 months as provided by rule of the licensing authority. The fee for provisional licensure shall be set by rule of the licensing authority, but may not exceed $200, and shall be nonrefundable and in addition to the fee required in subsection (1). This provisional license may be renewed no more than one time.
From Arizona Statute 32-1322 B, (with emphasis added):
B. An applicant for licensure as an embalmer shall:
1. Pass the funeral service science section of the national board examination or the state equivalent examination.
2. Pass the embalmer state laws and rules examination.
3. Be of good moral character.
4. Have been licensed as an intern for at least one year.
5. Have successfully completed an internship program that included assisting in the embalming of at least twenty-five dead human bodies.
These are just the regulations in Alcor and SA's home states. Both organizations have traveled outside their states, to perform procedures. Call me "overly cautious," but if I were managing a cryonics facility, I would do anything, and everything, to comply with state and federal regulations, for fear of negligence, or illegal activities, shutting down the entire cryonics industry. People working in cryonics aren't going to be able to put on their scrubs, or white lab coats, and believe this transforms them into professionals capable of performing advanced medical procedures, or gives them the authority to do things like declare people dead and commence preservation procedures, forever. Eventually, someone will stop these behaviors, and it won't be pretty, for the cryonics industry, as a whole.
If I were Bill Faloon, or Saul Kent, I would take part of the ~$2M a year I was spending for a lot of unqualified personnel and questionable "research," at SA and CCR, and spend it on establishing relationships with licensed embalmers in all the states in which I had clients. Better yet, I would investigate whether it was possible to acquire embalmers who are licensed in multiple states. While I was doing this, I would have a team investigating how to move the procedures into mainstream medicine, where they could be carried out by vascular surgeons, perfusionists, and other competent, qualified, medical personnel.
I believe LEF is supporting ten employees at SA and CCR, combined. When I resigned from SA, there were seven of us, all putting in 40-hour weeks, plus at least one consultant who told me he was allowed to log 160 hours per month. Taking into consideration that the SA employees are allowed four weeks of vacation, per year, that was approximately 15,360 man hours, per year. I've been there, and I feel an EXTREMELY large percentage, (the vast majority, in my opinion), of those hours were absolutely wasted. I felt some people were being paid to do absolutely nothing, with most of their time, and half the man-hours were being used on questionable "design and fabrication" projects.
SA has the time, and the money, to provide the services they offer in a professional and ethical manner. Yet they continue wasting all their valuable time and money attempting to train layman to perform medical procedures they will not be able to master without extensive, properly-supervised clinical experience, and designing and fabricating equipment of questionable merit. Bill and Saul, (or their extremely well-paid management), should really focus on researching ways to provide their services, competently, and in a manner that won't result in more trouble for the cryonics industry.
As "FD" recently suggested on the Cold Filter forum, and as I have suggested, many times, in the past, if the cryonics organizations don't regulate themselves, someone is going to do it for them.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
20 Questions for Suspended Animation, Inc. (SA)
(What follows is a reprint of my August 13, 2009 Cold Filter post. http://www.network54.com/Forum/291677/message/1250167128/20+Questions+for+SA
I did forward the questions to Catherine Baldwin, the manager of Suspended Animation, Inc., at two separate email addresses from which she is known to respond. In all fairness, I have yet to forward the questions to Bill and Saul, mainly because I just haven't taken the time to dig out their contact info. I do fully intend to make sure they each receive a copy of my questions.)
Recently, someone on this forum suggested that inquiring directly, to SA, might result in the answers to some of our questions, so I've decided to do just that. I'm sending the following questions to Catherine Baldwin, Saul Kent and Bill Faloon:
1. What are the names and qualifications of the Suspended Animation (SA) staff members, and why is this information not available on SA's website?
2. Are any of the SA staff members reluctant to have their names associated with cryonics?
3. Are any SA staff members proficient at femoral cannulation and/or perfusion? If so, please name these people and produce their relevant experience. (Proficiency requires extensive, supervised clinical experiences, on human patients.)
4. How many medical professionals does SA have on retainer, and are any of them are contractually required to respond, when "on call," for cases? (By "respond," I mean show up for the case, not answer their phone and say they can't come.)
5. Why does the management of SA think it is wise to attempt to train layman to perform advanced medical procedures, when their budget would easily allow for qualified professionals?
6. Does the management of SA believe it is acceptable to often rely on outside help, (such as funeral directors who may, or may not, be available for each case, or may not always be cooperative), or do they agree it would be preferable to have staff members capable of performing the core medical procedures needed for the washout procedure, (femoral cannulation and perfusion)?
7. What does SA do with 240 man-hours per week, and only a handful of cases, per year?
8. Does SA management track the cost of "research" projects, such as the Autopulse project, including man-hours?
9. Did anyone at SA really believe a DIY project, such as the Autopulse project, involving that length of time, and that amount of money, could compete with companies such as Medtronic, which has now produced the battery-powered "Lucas 2"?
10. At any time, prior to starting, (or even during), this very expensive project, did anyone associated with SA pick up the phone and contact the manufacturers of the Autopulse, and all of its competitors, to see if anyone was working on, (or would be willing to work on), a battery-powered version of such a device?
11. What lab experiments have been carried out at SA, if any, and what were the results?
12. Does the management of SA agree that the images on the SA website are somewhat deceptive, (especially the images of the lab experiment on the home page, and the surgical image on the "Vitrification" page)?
13. Why are the News Bulletins so infrequent, and why do the Case Reports take so long to be released? (See question seven.)
14. Why was the last detailed SA case report authored by two non-medical professionals who were not even present for the case, (which was carried out by three laymen with no medical experience, whatsoever)?
15. Who is writing the reports for the recent Alcor/SA case and the CI-95 case?
16. Will those reports contain the names and qualifications of attending personnel, the length of time taken for cannulation, the number of incisions made, and full perfusion reports that contain flow rates and pressures, volume delivered, volume returned, etc.?
17. Will the CI-95 case contain an explanation of the seemingly unreasonable amount of time involved in the procedure?
18. Do local codes permit dead bodies to be brought into the SA facility, for procedures?
19. Is it legal for laymen and/or EMT-Basics, (who have little-to-no field experience, following their brief EMT-B training), to attempt to carry out advanced medical procedures on dead bodies, in SA's Boynton Beach, Florida facility? (Or, anywhere else, for that matter?)
20. Does the management of SA think it is reasonable/ethical to charge $60K to have unqualified, inexperienced persons attempt to carry out well-established medical procedures that professionals could consistently perform, without error?
These are questions I've been asking for nearly three years, now, (since not long after I became a fulltime employee, at SA), and I would really like to know the answers. All this "disgruntled employee," "personal vendetta" nonsense is just that. I simply don't like to see medical procedures with which I am very experienced being bastardized the way they have been. It's time for people in cryonics to quit acting so ignorantly, and irresponsibly, especially those companies that are so generously funded. While it is certainly questionable as to whether cryonics efforts will ever be successful, I believe it is an experiment worth undertaking, (pun unintended), and I don't understand why cryonics care providers are not people who can perform femoral cannulations and perfusion, without inflicting more harm than necessary, (especially when the salaries of the unqualified care providers are often comparable to, or even more generous than, those of their qualified counterparts).
"Primum non nocere"..."First, do no harm."
I did forward the questions to Catherine Baldwin, the manager of Suspended Animation, Inc., at two separate email addresses from which she is known to respond. In all fairness, I have yet to forward the questions to Bill and Saul, mainly because I just haven't taken the time to dig out their contact info. I do fully intend to make sure they each receive a copy of my questions.)
Recently, someone on this forum suggested that inquiring directly, to SA, might result in the answers to some of our questions, so I've decided to do just that. I'm sending the following questions to Catherine Baldwin, Saul Kent and Bill Faloon:
1. What are the names and qualifications of the Suspended Animation (SA) staff members, and why is this information not available on SA's website?
2. Are any of the SA staff members reluctant to have their names associated with cryonics?
3. Are any SA staff members proficient at femoral cannulation and/or perfusion? If so, please name these people and produce their relevant experience. (Proficiency requires extensive, supervised clinical experiences, on human patients.)
4. How many medical professionals does SA have on retainer, and are any of them are contractually required to respond, when "on call," for cases? (By "respond," I mean show up for the case, not answer their phone and say they can't come.)
5. Why does the management of SA think it is wise to attempt to train layman to perform advanced medical procedures, when their budget would easily allow for qualified professionals?
6. Does the management of SA believe it is acceptable to often rely on outside help, (such as funeral directors who may, or may not, be available for each case, or may not always be cooperative), or do they agree it would be preferable to have staff members capable of performing the core medical procedures needed for the washout procedure, (femoral cannulation and perfusion)?
7. What does SA do with 240 man-hours per week, and only a handful of cases, per year?
8. Does SA management track the cost of "research" projects, such as the Autopulse project, including man-hours?
9. Did anyone at SA really believe a DIY project, such as the Autopulse project, involving that length of time, and that amount of money, could compete with companies such as Medtronic, which has now produced the battery-powered "Lucas 2"?
10. At any time, prior to starting, (or even during), this very expensive project, did anyone associated with SA pick up the phone and contact the manufacturers of the Autopulse, and all of its competitors, to see if anyone was working on, (or would be willing to work on), a battery-powered version of such a device?
11. What lab experiments have been carried out at SA, if any, and what were the results?
12. Does the management of SA agree that the images on the SA website are somewhat deceptive, (especially the images of the lab experiment on the home page, and the surgical image on the "Vitrification" page)?
13. Why are the News Bulletins so infrequent, and why do the Case Reports take so long to be released? (See question seven.)
14. Why was the last detailed SA case report authored by two non-medical professionals who were not even present for the case, (which was carried out by three laymen with no medical experience, whatsoever)?
15. Who is writing the reports for the recent Alcor/SA case and the CI-95 case?
16. Will those reports contain the names and qualifications of attending personnel, the length of time taken for cannulation, the number of incisions made, and full perfusion reports that contain flow rates and pressures, volume delivered, volume returned, etc.?
17. Will the CI-95 case contain an explanation of the seemingly unreasonable amount of time involved in the procedure?
18. Do local codes permit dead bodies to be brought into the SA facility, for procedures?
19. Is it legal for laymen and/or EMT-Basics, (who have little-to-no field experience, following their brief EMT-B training), to attempt to carry out advanced medical procedures on dead bodies, in SA's Boynton Beach, Florida facility? (Or, anywhere else, for that matter?)
20. Does the management of SA think it is reasonable/ethical to charge $60K to have unqualified, inexperienced persons attempt to carry out well-established medical procedures that professionals could consistently perform, without error?
These are questions I've been asking for nearly three years, now, (since not long after I became a fulltime employee, at SA), and I would really like to know the answers. All this "disgruntled employee," "personal vendetta" nonsense is just that. I simply don't like to see medical procedures with which I am very experienced being bastardized the way they have been. It's time for people in cryonics to quit acting so ignorantly, and irresponsibly, especially those companies that are so generously funded. While it is certainly questionable as to whether cryonics efforts will ever be successful, I believe it is an experiment worth undertaking, (pun unintended), and I don't understand why cryonics care providers are not people who can perform femoral cannulations and perfusion, without inflicting more harm than necessary, (especially when the salaries of the unqualified care providers are often comparable to, or even more generous than, those of their qualified counterparts).
"Primum non nocere"..."First, do no harm."
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Something Doesn't Add Up, for CI-95
Time....the time Suspended Animation (SA) took to get Mr. Henderson to Cryonics Institute (CI) doesn't add up.
Recently, we have the person who was responsible for selecting all the known SA staff members, (with the exception of Ms. Baldwin, and rumor has it he had an active role in her selection), stating:
The procedures being used during the stabilzation of cryonics patients are not "imperfect processes," they are well-established medical procedures that have been bungled, time-and-time-again, in cryonics, by people who are not qualified to perform them. Why is it Platt, (and others in cryonics), are accepting of unsupervised persons attempting to perform well-established surgical procedures they are not qualified to perform? How can anyone think persons not qualified to perform lab experiments, could be capable of leading and performing medical/surgical procedures, for which they are equally unqualified?
When you allow unqualified persons to attempt to lead, and carry out medical procedures, things often don't add up.
"But Curtis' heart stopped at 4:15am on the morning of Thursday, June 25th, 2009.His heart stopped at 4:15am, on June 25th. The SA team had to wait for an hour, for the funeral director, and then it took them an hour to reach the funeral home, placing them there at approximately 6:15am. I believe qualified medical professionals could have performed the washout, packed up and been on their way to the airport, before lunchtime. So, what took the SA team so long?
Curtis was given prompt pronouncement of death and placed in the ice bath with the autopulse cardiopulmonary support. But the standby team had to wait an hour for the funeral director before they could leave the hospital. It took another hour for the team to reach the funeral home, driving slowly in the van while the team gave Curtis cardiopulmonary support."
http://www.cryonics.org/reports/CI95.html
"Plans were made to ship Curtis by air to Michigan on Thursday afternoon, but the earliest available flight would not have arrived in Detroit until 10:40pm Thursday evening. Cargo processing stops at 10pm, so Curtis would have had to remain in the Detroit airport until cargo processing began again on Friday morning."SA was ready to start their washout procedure at 6:15am, but they couldn't get Mr. Henderson to the airport, in time for the flight that would have arrived in Detroit, at 10:40pm? Why not? Was this really the only available flight? There are many flights, between Albany and Detroit, each day.
http://www.cryonics.org/reports/CI95.html
"A decision was made for Catherine Baldwin and a New York funeral director to drive Curtis from New York.According to MapQuest, (which I, typically, find to be very generous in time estimates), the drive from Albany to Detroit is a ten-hour drive, meaning Ms. Baldwin and the funeral director did not leave Albany until approximately 5:30pm, (more than thirteen hours after Mr. Henderson was pronounced, and more than eleven hours after SA started their procedures, at the funeral home). The procedures should have taken a few hours, at most. Again, what caused the delay?
Catherine and the New York funeral director arrived at the funeral home of CI's funeral director Jim Walsh at about 3:30am on Friday morning."
http://www.cryonics.org/reports/CI95.html
"The Suspended Animation team consisted of Suspended Animation staff plus a professional perfusionist."Since we don't have the SA report, we can still only speculate, but my guess is: The delay was probably caused by unqualified persons attempting to perform the surgical procedure (femoral cannulation) needed for the washout.
http://www.cryonics.org/reports/CI95.html
WHEN did Ms. Baldwin recruit the funeral director? Did she, or any of the other (surgically unqualified) team members attempt to isolate the vessels, and perform the cannulation, before she recruited the funeral director? If so, how long did they "play surgeon," before recruiting the funeral director?"Team-leader Catherine Baldwin had years of experience doing surgery on laboratory animals, but not humans. Catherine solicited the assistance of a funeral director to isolate the blood vessels."
http://www.cryonics.org/reports/CI95.html
Recently, we have the person who was responsible for selecting all the known SA staff members, (with the exception of Ms. Baldwin, and rumor has it he had an active role in her selection), stating:
"...I admire the scientists struggling to develop better methods of cryopreservation, to minimize the damage that we create today and thus reduce our dependence on unknown technology tomorrow. And for those (like me) who lack scientific qualifications, there is always the unappetizing prospect of participating actively in the imperfect processes of standby, stabilization and transport, in the hope of making them more reliable and more effective in the future."People who lack medical qualifications should not be "participating actively" in medical procedures, other than to tote equipment and supplies. They should not be leading medical procedures, or performing medical procedures, for which they are unqualified, any more than people who lack scientific qualifications should be taking lead roles in performing scientic research.
(Charles Platt, in the "3rd Quarter 2008 - Volume 39:3" issue of Alcor's "Cryonics" magazine, which was actually published in July 2009.)
The procedures being used during the stabilzation of cryonics patients are not "imperfect processes," they are well-established medical procedures that have been bungled, time-and-time-again, in cryonics, by people who are not qualified to perform them. Why is it Platt, (and others in cryonics), are accepting of unsupervised persons attempting to perform well-established surgical procedures they are not qualified to perform? How can anyone think persons not qualified to perform lab experiments, could be capable of leading and performing medical/surgical procedures, for which they are equally unqualified?
When you allow unqualified persons to attempt to lead, and carry out medical procedures, things often don't add up.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Must We Speculate on SA's Recent Case?
(Reprint of my recent post, on Cold Filter, with minor edits.)
It's been just over a month, since the cryopreservation of Curtis Henderson (CI-95), and Suspended Animation has yet to publish their case report. (In conventional medicine, case reports are typically dictated immediately after the procedure, and transcribed soon thereafter; not written a month, or more, later.) Factual material regarding a medical procedure shouldn't take months, weeks, or even days, to produce.
The information in italics, below, is from Mr. Henderson's CI case report http://www.cryonics.org/reports/CI95.html):
"...Curtis' heart stopped at 4:15am on the morning of Thursday, June 25th, 2009.
Curtis was given prompt pronouncement of death and placed in the ice bath with the autopulse cardiopulmonary support. But the standby team had to wait an hour for the funeral director before they could leave the hospital. It took another hour for the team to reach the funeral home, driving slowly in the van while the team gave Curtis cardiopulmonary support."
Cardiopulmonary support with the Autopulse? Or, did it fail, again? (I'm wondering why they had to drive "slowly," if the Autopulse was being used.)
"The Suspended Animation team consisted of Suspended Animation staff plus a professional perfusionist."
As I've already stated, (in a previous post), I think it was GREAT that SA had a qualified perfusionist show up for a recent case. However, as far as we know, they still don't guarantee one will show up for every case. (In fact, I think Mathew Sullivan has indicated that SA offers no such guarantee.)
Did Mr. Henderson pay $60K for a professional perfusionist, (who probably wasn't guaranteed to show up but, thankfully, did), a research scientist with surgical experience, (who apparently didn't feel comfortable performing a femoral cannulation), and a couple of other care providers with nothing more than EMT-Basic training followed by little-to-no experience with human patients, and a funeral director Mr. Henderson would have had, anyway?
"For the first two-and-a-half days the team also included a surgeon, but the surgeon could not remain on the standby. Another surgeon was to join the team later in the day Thursday, but that was of no help early Thursday morning when the team needed to do surgery."
After seven years, and probably 10 MILLION dollars, (or more), SA still can't provide someone capable of performing a femoral cannulation, for every case??? The perfusion procedure is the "backbone" of the services SA is said to be providing. If you don't have someone capable of performing a good cannulation, and someone capable of safely performing the perfusion, you have virtually nothing. Also, let's not forget the importance of having someone capable of gaining IV access on a patient with no blood pressure. SA was probably lucky, in that Mr. Henderson was in a hospital, so we can assume he had at least one IV already in place.
"Team-leader Catherine Baldwin had years of experience doing surgery on laboratory animals, but not humans. Catherine solicited the assistance of a funeral director to isolate the blood vessels. "
Does this mean Ms. Baldwin thinks someone who has "had years of experience doing surgery on laboratory animals" is less qualified than a funeral director, for performing a femoral cannulation? What good are Ms. Baldwin's "years of experience doing surgery," if she won't perform the primary surgical procedure associated with SA's services? Isolating the femoral vessels is a relatively easy surgical task, and I believe funeral directors aren't really known for their finesse, as they typically don't have to be concerned with inflicting additional internal damage on their clients.
What were the qualifications of the "surgeon" who showed up but couldn't stick around for the procedure, and the "surgeon" who couldn't make it in time? Were they actual surgeons who have performed femoral cannulations on humans? Or, has most of their experience been with animals, just as Ms. Baldwin's?
"Catherine and the New York funeral director arrived at the funeral home of CI's funeral director Jim Walsh at about 3:30am on Friday morning. Mr. Walsh opened Curtis' chest with a median sternotomy. He could have perfused through the ascending aorta, but insofar as there was already a cannula in place in the femoral artery that had been placed by SA. Catherine told Jim that the cannula in the femoral artery extended all the way up to near the heart. Jim decided to use the existing cannula and take drainage from the jugular. Part of his rationale was concern about problems from pacemaker wires close to the heart. He clamped the axillary arteries as well as the descending aorta (thinking that the cannula in the descending aorta was not being constricted). In retrospect, the main advantage in opening the chest was the ability to clamp the descending aorta, because the decision to use the femoral cannula was only made after the chest had been opened."
There's no "rational rationale" in performing additional cannulations, if the femoral cannulae are in place, and a proper washout has been performed, without complications related to the cannulation. Plenty of heart surgeries are performed, via femoral cannulation. I think I see a lot of evidence as to why cryonics organizations are going to have to either educate a select group of funeral directors, or find "surgeons" who feel confident in performing cannulations.
Was either of the SA vehicles that get so much publicity, and are used for training sessions, used?
Finally, is the SA case report being written by team members who were actually present for the procedure, or by non-medical professionals who weren't even there? If the case is the latter, I will feel compelled to assume some creative writing is taking place, especially given the time-frame in producing the reports.
It's been just over a month, since the cryopreservation of Curtis Henderson (CI-95), and Suspended Animation has yet to publish their case report. (In conventional medicine, case reports are typically dictated immediately after the procedure, and transcribed soon thereafter; not written a month, or more, later.) Factual material regarding a medical procedure shouldn't take months, weeks, or even days, to produce.
The information in italics, below, is from Mr. Henderson's CI case report http://www.cryonics.org/reports/CI95.html):
"...Curtis' heart stopped at 4:15am on the morning of Thursday, June 25th, 2009.
Curtis was given prompt pronouncement of death and placed in the ice bath with the autopulse cardiopulmonary support. But the standby team had to wait an hour for the funeral director before they could leave the hospital. It took another hour for the team to reach the funeral home, driving slowly in the van while the team gave Curtis cardiopulmonary support."
Cardiopulmonary support with the Autopulse? Or, did it fail, again? (I'm wondering why they had to drive "slowly," if the Autopulse was being used.)
"The Suspended Animation team consisted of Suspended Animation staff plus a professional perfusionist."
As I've already stated, (in a previous post), I think it was GREAT that SA had a qualified perfusionist show up for a recent case. However, as far as we know, they still don't guarantee one will show up for every case. (In fact, I think Mathew Sullivan has indicated that SA offers no such guarantee.)
Did Mr. Henderson pay $60K for a professional perfusionist, (who probably wasn't guaranteed to show up but, thankfully, did), a research scientist with surgical experience, (who apparently didn't feel comfortable performing a femoral cannulation), and a couple of other care providers with nothing more than EMT-Basic training followed by little-to-no experience with human patients, and a funeral director Mr. Henderson would have had, anyway?
"For the first two-and-a-half days the team also included a surgeon, but the surgeon could not remain on the standby. Another surgeon was to join the team later in the day Thursday, but that was of no help early Thursday morning when the team needed to do surgery."
After seven years, and probably 10 MILLION dollars, (or more), SA still can't provide someone capable of performing a femoral cannulation, for every case??? The perfusion procedure is the "backbone" of the services SA is said to be providing. If you don't have someone capable of performing a good cannulation, and someone capable of safely performing the perfusion, you have virtually nothing. Also, let's not forget the importance of having someone capable of gaining IV access on a patient with no blood pressure. SA was probably lucky, in that Mr. Henderson was in a hospital, so we can assume he had at least one IV already in place.
"Team-leader Catherine Baldwin had years of experience doing surgery on laboratory animals, but not humans. Catherine solicited the assistance of a funeral director to isolate the blood vessels. "
Does this mean Ms. Baldwin thinks someone who has "had years of experience doing surgery on laboratory animals" is less qualified than a funeral director, for performing a femoral cannulation? What good are Ms. Baldwin's "years of experience doing surgery," if she won't perform the primary surgical procedure associated with SA's services? Isolating the femoral vessels is a relatively easy surgical task, and I believe funeral directors aren't really known for their finesse, as they typically don't have to be concerned with inflicting additional internal damage on their clients.
What were the qualifications of the "surgeon" who showed up but couldn't stick around for the procedure, and the "surgeon" who couldn't make it in time? Were they actual surgeons who have performed femoral cannulations on humans? Or, has most of their experience been with animals, just as Ms. Baldwin's?
"Catherine and the New York funeral director arrived at the funeral home of CI's funeral director Jim Walsh at about 3:30am on Friday morning. Mr. Walsh opened Curtis' chest with a median sternotomy. He could have perfused through the ascending aorta, but insofar as there was already a cannula in place in the femoral artery that had been placed by SA. Catherine told Jim that the cannula in the femoral artery extended all the way up to near the heart. Jim decided to use the existing cannula and take drainage from the jugular. Part of his rationale was concern about problems from pacemaker wires close to the heart. He clamped the axillary arteries as well as the descending aorta (thinking that the cannula in the descending aorta was not being constricted). In retrospect, the main advantage in opening the chest was the ability to clamp the descending aorta, because the decision to use the femoral cannula was only made after the chest had been opened."
There's no "rational rationale" in performing additional cannulations, if the femoral cannulae are in place, and a proper washout has been performed, without complications related to the cannulation. Plenty of heart surgeries are performed, via femoral cannulation. I think I see a lot of evidence as to why cryonics organizations are going to have to either educate a select group of funeral directors, or find "surgeons" who feel confident in performing cannulations.
Was either of the SA vehicles that get so much publicity, and are used for training sessions, used?
Finally, is the SA case report being written by team members who were actually present for the procedure, or by non-medical professionals who weren't even there? If the case is the latter, I will feel compelled to assume some creative writing is taking place, especially given the time-frame in producing the reports.
Friday, April 10, 2009
The "Autopulse" CPS Device
Recently, I raised some issues, regarding use of the "Autopulse" device, in cryonics. I was researching PIB alternatives, (in hopes of finding something more lightweight and portable), when I noticed the "Autopulse" pictured on Suspended Animation's website. They have the device pictured, with a medical mannequin, as it would be used in conventional medicine. I don't believe the device can be used, in cryonics, as it is pictured. As anyone can see, the electronics are within the backboard, underneath the patient, (note the controls next to the patient's left ear), which means the electronics would be submerged in icewater.
After only a brief review, I don't see how the AutoPulse ever made it past the discussion stage, in cryonics. When I was at SA, the Autopulse was a project in which I was not involved. If I had been, it would have likely been just one more battle in an on-going war, regarding equipment choices. I believe well into six figures has been spent on this project, and SA is advertising it along with the rest of their equipment, yet we have no details on its use in cryonics, other than the report of a failure, within minutes, on their "CI-81" case.
Has this device been successfully modified for use, in cryonics? If so, how? If not, why is it being pictured on a cryonics service provider's website?
Here is a discussion of the device, written by a paramedic:
http://medicscribe.blogspot.com/2007/03/autopulse.html
From a study noted in the above discussion:
"CONCLUSIONS: Use of an automated LDB-CPR device as implemented in this study was associated with worse neurological outcomes and a trend toward worse survival than manual CPR. Device design or implementation strategies require further evaluation."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16772625?dopt=Abstract
A more favorable study also noted in the above discussion:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17254691?dopt=AbstractPlus
While the Autopulse appears to be a worthy device, in situations where people are attempting to resuscitate the patient, I don't see how it will ever work in conjunction with cooling patients with icewater, and there are other considerations:
"The AutoPulse System is designed for adults with weight of no more than 300 lbs. (136 kg) with chest circumference of 29.9 to 51.2 in. (76 to 130 cm) and chest width of 9.8 to 15 in. (25 to 38 cm). With this said, the distribution of girth of the patient will be the key determining factor. A patient weighing in excess of 136kg may be suitable for the AutoPulse if they do not have a chest size of more than 130cm."
http://www.zoll.com.au/products/autopulse/faqs.html
It has only passed a "drop test" of 0.5 meters. (Thinking about airline baggage handling.)
http://www.zoll.com.au/products/autopulse/faqs.html
Article by Aschwin de Wolf, (another former SA employee):
http://www.depressedmetabolism.com/2007/09/07/load-distributing-band-cps/
(Afterthought: CPS has been approached, in cryonics, with the same parameters used in conventional medicine, but is that really necessary? Oxygen may be detrimental to cryonics patients. How aggressive does CPS need to be, for circulating meds and cooling?)
After only a brief review, I don't see how the AutoPulse ever made it past the discussion stage, in cryonics. When I was at SA, the Autopulse was a project in which I was not involved. If I had been, it would have likely been just one more battle in an on-going war, regarding equipment choices. I believe well into six figures has been spent on this project, and SA is advertising it along with the rest of their equipment, yet we have no details on its use in cryonics, other than the report of a failure, within minutes, on their "CI-81" case.
Has this device been successfully modified for use, in cryonics? If so, how? If not, why is it being pictured on a cryonics service provider's website?
Here is a discussion of the device, written by a paramedic:
http://medicscribe.blogspot.com/2007/03/autopulse.html
From a study noted in the above discussion:
"CONCLUSIONS: Use of an automated LDB-CPR device as implemented in this study was associated with worse neurological outcomes and a trend toward worse survival than manual CPR. Device design or implementation strategies require further evaluation."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16772625?dopt=Abstract
A more favorable study also noted in the above discussion:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17254691?dopt=AbstractPlus
While the Autopulse appears to be a worthy device, in situations where people are attempting to resuscitate the patient, I don't see how it will ever work in conjunction with cooling patients with icewater, and there are other considerations:
"The AutoPulse System is designed for adults with weight of no more than 300 lbs. (136 kg) with chest circumference of 29.9 to 51.2 in. (76 to 130 cm) and chest width of 9.8 to 15 in. (25 to 38 cm). With this said, the distribution of girth of the patient will be the key determining factor. A patient weighing in excess of 136kg may be suitable for the AutoPulse if they do not have a chest size of more than 130cm."
http://www.zoll.com.au/products/autopulse/faqs.html
It has only passed a "drop test" of 0.5 meters. (Thinking about airline baggage handling.)
http://www.zoll.com.au/products/autopulse/faqs.html
Article by Aschwin de Wolf, (another former SA employee):
http://www.depressedmetabolism.com/2007/09/07/load-distributing-band-cps/
(Afterthought: CPS has been approached, in cryonics, with the same parameters used in conventional medicine, but is that really necessary? Oxygen may be detrimental to cryonics patients. How aggressive does CPS need to be, for circulating meds and cooling?)
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