Carol Lin
HON-419
Professor O’ Neil
April 23, 2017
Suspended Animation: The History and Possible Uses of this Procedure
Suspended animation is “the temporary cessation of most vital functions without death”, essentially putting life on hold. First thought to be just a work of fiction, suspended animation has been brought into reality, specifically in the field of medicine. But, scientists are hoping to bring this technique to space. Space travel is long and harsh on the human body. For humans to travel, something must be done to ensure their safety. For example, shields are used to lessen radiation exposure, and exercise is required to prevent muscle loss. Due to the long space travel time to planets, such as Mars, measures must be taken to somehow preserve a person’s age. Therefore, suspended animation has been thought of a possible solution for this. This comes with many challenges and many of the ideas are just that…ideas. Suspended animation is a complicated task to accomplish; however, due to its major role in literature such as science fiction, actuality in medicine, and future in space, suspended animation is a topic of importance.
Suspended animation is present in many pieces of literature, ranging from fairytales to science fiction. In fairytales, suspended animation has been seen in works such as Sleeping Beauty. In Sleeping Beauty, the princess Aurora has been put under a 100-year long spell by an evil witch. This could only be broken by a kiss from a prince. So, for a hundred years Aurora slept. She did not age, did not change…she was placed in a suspended state. Suspended animation is prevalent in science fiction. In The Jameson Satellite, the main character Professor Jameson wants to be preserved after death. So, he designs a radium powered rocket ship which is capable of evade meteors. This spaceship is launched into space with Professor Jameson’s body after death. The rocket is found by an alien race the Zorome who have turned themselves into cyborgs. They do the same with Jameson by repairing the brain and placing it into a robot body. Professor Jameson soon wakens and learns of what happens… he is now a cyborg. The Zoromes do not have any wants and are not entirely capable of dying. Essentially, they are immortal if the body is still in working condition. In the end, Jameson finds himself lost and is faced with the prospect of being alone forever. However, the Zoromes find him in the end and he is able to explore the universe with them. Although short, there is a small section on suspended animation in this story. With suspended animation, the hope is to be able to awaken the vital organs so a person can live again (Bassior). Professor Jameson was able to preserve his body in his radium weaponized rocket ship (Bassior). In this way, he suspended himself. His brain was able to be reengineered and placed into a stronger, bionic body.
One of the most noted characters who underwent suspended animation is the popular superhero, Captain America. During World War II, he was hurled into the water and became frozen. He was soon found by the Avengers Initiative in perfect health. The freezing temperature of the area allowed Captain America’s body to go into a “hold”. His body did not age along with his abilities.
With fiction, anything is possible. The authors can include anything they want…including suspended animation. However, can suspended animation be put to reality? Scientifically, suspended animation is known as emergency preservation and resuscitation (EPR-CAT). With this technique, doctors induce hypothermia to buy time for a patient. The hypothermia prolongs periods of cardiac arrest, essentially stopping all cellular functions.
The ideas of suspended animation have already been used in the medical field. Before being put to use in humans, suspended animation was tested in canines. Using canine brains, scientists tested to see how well it would hold up to the cryogenic process. Results showed that a majority of the ultrastructure was preserved, but tears were still found (Suspended animation). Eleven years later, this was tested on injured pigs. A major artery or vein was cut to stimulate extensive damage. When the animal fell into a state of shock, the pig’s blood was stored and chilled before allowing the temperature to be lowered from 37 degrees centigrade to 10 degrees centigrade- clinically dead. However, the surgeons were able to warm the blood that was drained, place it back in the body, and help the animal regain conscious. This had a 90% success rate (Suspended animation). Freezing to preserve vital organs has also been seen in humans. A Norwegian skier, Anna Gabenholm, was trapped in freezing water for 80 minutes. This lowered her body temperature to 57 degrees Fahrenheit. However, doctors were able to warm her up and she soon began to breathe. It took two hours for her to recover, but the only side effect she had was that her metabolism had slowed (Suspended animation). With suspended animation being effective in a lab and accidental setting, it could be used in a hospital setting. Dr. Sam Tisherman of UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania created an emergency preservation and resuscitation human trial to test suspended animation in humans in a hospital setting. The trial involves inducing hypothermia in patients by swapping their blood with a cold saline solution. This will cool the body down to 10 degrees Celsius in 15 minutes. A low body temperature will cause cellular activity to stop, making the cells able to survive without oxygen. This will stop more damage from occurring (Yang 2014). If this trial is passed, it can potentially save many patients with penetrating wounds. The benefits of suspended animation are huge. If this technique can slow cellular processes, it could possibly slow or stop aging. This can be useful in terms of space travel.
Space travel is very long and hard. For example, it takes around 6-8 months to travel to Mars depending on Mars and Earth’s orbit (MarsOne). The astronauts would spend several months on Mars before traveling back. This is a long journey, but not terribly so. However, if we were to travel to an alien planet it may take many years. In addition, if manned, more things would have to be planned. For example, life support systems would need to be taken into consideration. The proper amount of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide would need to be maintained. In addition, food and hygiene would have to be taken care of. This would require a significant amount of storage, and would take up space in the craft. Because of this, suspended animation became a source of interest. With suspended animation, fewer people would be needed and the spacecraft could be smaller. This allows for easier and more efficient travel (Mirror.co.uk).
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been working with Space Works, an Atlanta based company, to see if suspended animation can be used (Mirror.co.uk). They hope to use it on the Mars trip, a 12-16-month round trip depending on planetary orbits. SpaceWorks believe they can use therapeutic hypothermia, which reduces body temperature by 10 degrees, to put humans into a hibernative state (Bulger, 2016). Once in this state, humans will be able to travel through space. Still in the testing phases, SpaceWorks has found RhinoChill System. This spray goes to the brain through the nose and lowers body temperature gradually (one degree per hour) (Bulger, 2016). After six hours, the astronauts will reach the hibernative state of around 89 to 93 degrees, allowing them to make the travel to Mars.
However, this procedure has many side effects and problems that need to be sorted out before it can be put into use. The technology available now only allows for hibernation for at most 2 weeks, or 14 days. But being unconscious is not like being asleep. It is more like anesthesia and the effects of waking up from it. Under this procedure, astronauts would have episodes of wakefulness and non-REM sleep. Astronauts, when woken up, will most likely be groggy and wake up sleep deprived (Bulger, 2016). In addition, the topic of nutrition needs to be considered. Humans only have a certain amount of fat stored in their body. Therefore, the humans under stasis will have to have intravenous feeding tubes pumping in the necessary vitamin and minerals (Bulger, 2016). Exercise is a major concern for astronauts…in stasis or not. With space travel, there is muscle and bone loss. Astronauts under stasis cannot exercise. Therefore, SpaceWorks is looking at using electrical stimulation to stimulate physical activity (Futurism). Last, with space travel it is necessary to have at least one person capable of working the system at all times. Therefore, all the astronauts cannot be suspended at the same time. John Bradford, SpaceWork’s president, states crewmembers will be put in stasis for two weeks at a time. However, one crew member will be conscious at all times. This crew member will make sure all equipment is working and perform his other duties. When it is time for this crewmember to sleep, they will help the next crewmember wake up (Bulger, 2016). However, all of these ideas are just ideas. None of this has been tested.
In an update released September 29th, 2016, SpaceWorks announced they had received funding for Phase II. With this news release, they identified four areas to focus on:
“-Medical assessments and evaluations including metabolic suppression approaches and the prolonged physiological impact of hypothermia
– Mars mission habitat design refinement with a focus on radiation assessment and shielding as well as internal thermal environment
– Extensibility beyond Mars to Martian moons, Main Belt asteroids, and the Jupiter and Saturn systems
– Technology roadmap development to identify key challenges and maturation costs” (SpaceWorks)
They also assembled a team of medical doctors and scientists to discuss the challenges the astronauts might face, some of which are described above.
Suspended animation, the act of inducing hypothermia to cease organ function, is an emerging topic that if succeeds, will have many uses. It can be used in the hospital for patients who have experienced a major trauma, such as gun wounds or car accidents. But, many people are excited about the possibility of utilizing this procedure for long term space travel. If SpaceWorks succeeds, space travel to distant planets will be easier. Crafts can be smaller and fly more efficiently, and the problem of aging can be slowed. However, most information on suspended animation is purely ideas and theories. More research and background is needed before it can be enacted on human subjects.