You have heard the phrase – “It’s not Brain Surgery”. Well, in the scenario above it definitely is and the best part is that we don’t have to wait till the 22nd century. It is happening right now!
I was listening to CNN’s Sanjay Gupta describe the brain tissue injury suffered by Arizona Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords and hence the start of my little research project. What can cryogenic cooling do to human tissue, particularly human brain tissue? Can neuroscience harness the minimally invasive and bloodless cryosurgery to save life? The primary advantages of cryosurgery as described in 2006 ASHRAE Handbook – Refrigeration (Page 40.7) are that (1) it provides a bloodless approach to surgery, (2) in some applications it reduces the rate of death, and (3) the extent of destruction inside the affected area can be imaged with noninvasive methods (Gilbert et al. 1985).
Now, remember the Sci-Fi scenario I presented to you above. Zimin et al. (2010) at the Graduate School of Life Science and System Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan perfectly describes a somewhat similar scenario in the abstract to their research paper titled “ Cryogenic Probe for Brain Surgery”.
Similar cooling applications are also being used to save the lives of little infants at the Georgetown Pediatrics in Georgetown Hospital. The team headed by Siva Subramanian, MD, chief of Neonatology applies a technique called “Brain Cooling” to save precious lives of their NICU patients. As per the hospital’s official website, this procedure is used to treat a disorder called HIE in newborns. Complications of this disorder include physical and/or mental retardation and in 60% of the severe cases even death.
In Dr. Siva’s words – “It’s obviously not a miracle cure, but a procedure that can help reduce the most serious consequences – at least in some infants. These are among the sickest babies we ever see. I’m glad we finally have something to offer them and their parents.
I hope my article moves you to recognize the power of ASHRAE research, particularly in the field of refrigeration. So go ahead and donate generously – You may be saving lives.
By, Jason Alphonso, Contributing Editor &
Cameron Sherwood – Refrigeration Chair, 2010-2011
