Alcor at Work Photo Gallery:
Procedures
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| The operating room at Alcor's Scottsdale, Arizona, facility. |
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| The operating room becomes very busy during a cryonics case. As many as a dozen technicians and support staff can be required. Procedures are performed by physician or veterinary surgeons with extensive cryonics experience, and technicians with knowledge of the process of cryoprotectant perfusion. |
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| Contract surgeons work to gain access to major blood vessels. At this point, the
patient is typically at a temperature of 60°F or lower. This permits
blood circulation to be stopped for a limited time without harming the brain.
Sterile technique is utilized. |
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| Once vascular access is established, the patient will be connected to
a perfusion machine that replaces blood with a chemical solution that prevents
ice formation. |
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| A technician prepares the cryoprotectant solution perfusion circuit. The
wires behind the plastic tubing are used for electronic monitoring and data
collection. |
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| A bank of heart-lung machine roller pumps (below) circulate cryoprotectant
solution into the patient in gradually increasing concentration. A computer
system (above) monitors and collects temperature, pressure, and cryoprotectant
concentration data during this four hour procedure. |
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| A technician checks lines connected to electronic devices that measure
cryoprotectant concentration (refractometers). |
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| A final manual check of the refractive index of the cryoprotectant solution
verifies that the concentration is sufficient for vitrification (deep cooling
without freezing). |
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| The patient is now transferred from the operating room to the cooldown
facility, where cooling to -130°C takes place under computer control.
The result of this process is "vitrification" (solidification without freezing). |
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| Following vitrification, neuropatients are placed in individual aluminum
containers. |
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Containers are finally immersed in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of
-196°C for long-term care.
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For more information see Alcor
Procedures
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