Doctors have successfully placed a patient in suspended animation for the first time, opening up possibilities of improved emergency healthcare services.
Suspended animation or emergency preservation and resuscitation (EPR) is when the body functions can be paused while life-saving medical procedures are performed.
As Engadget notes, the technique is being tested at the University of Maryland Medical Center on patients that arrive with acute trauma, such as a stab wound or gunshot.
In EPR, the patient's blood is replaced with ice-cold saline which stops the heart and brain activity. By slowing down the chemical reactions in cells, EPR provides doctors about two hours to perform injuries before the heart is restarted.
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