Category Archives: Cryonics

This morning's Google results for ""femoral capsule" cannulation" resulted in "About 3 results (0.21 seconds)" (copied and pasted from Google search results). One was my blog review of Suspended Animations's (SA's) CI-95 (Curtis Henderson) case report; one was SA's CI-95 case report; and one was the CI-95 case report from Cryonic Institute's site.

Why so few results? Because "femoral capsule," (a term used in the Curtis Henderson case report, written by pseudo-surgeon, Catherine Baldwin), is an orthopedic term, which has nothing to do with a femoral cannulation.

This morning's Google results for ""femoral sheath" cannulation" resulted in "About 2,060 results (0.27 seconds)" (copied and pasted from Google search results).

Why so many results? Because the "femoral sheath" (a term NOT used in Ms. Baldwin's descriptions of her FAILED attempts to cannulate Mr. Henderson), encloses the femoral artery and femoral vein, two large blood vessels Suspended Animation's manager, Catherine Baldwin, could not locate. (See previous post.)

SA's case report in no way compares to a standard report for a conventional medical procedure requiring femoral cannulation and perfusion, though those procedures, as applied in conventional medicine and cryonics, are fundamentally the same. So why the HUGE difference in the reporting style? I believe SA (mis)used a lot of medical terms, in order to deceive the readers, in regard to their personnel's capabilities. Ms. Baldwin and her staff members were engaging in "make-believe," as far as I am concerned; they were untrained persons playing medical professionals. It's a charade, and not a very well-orchestrated one, at that.

From SA's CI-95 (Curtis Henderson) case report:
"Using a #10 scalpel blade an 8cm incision was made at this midpoint, just below the inguinal crease along the longitudinal axis of the leg. Blunt dissection and electro-cautery were used to clear a 3cm layer of heavy adipose tissue to expose the muscle. Additional blunt dissection clearing 2cm layer of muscle was made through heavy pooling of bright red blood from the surrounding tissues. Hemostasis with surgical sponges was ineffective. After 20 minutes of dissection the femoral capsule and vessels were not visible and a consulting physician was called."
http://suspendedinc.com/cases/Stabilization%20and%20Transport%20Case%20Report%20CI95.pdf

Apparently, Catherine Baldwin, manager of Suspended Animation, (Boynton Beach, FL), doesn't realize one of the best ways to make one's self appear foolish is to use terminology one isn't familiar with. I don't know how I missed it, during my recent partial review of her most recently published case report, but the term "femoral capsule" slipped by me.

Baldwin claims to have been searching for the "femoral capsule." In all my years as a perfusionist, the only people I ever heard use the term "femoral capsule," were orthopedic surgeons. (Perfusionists sometimes perform blood salvage, during orthopedic procedures, such as hip replacements.) The femoral capsule is part of the hip joint, and has nothing to do with performing a vascular cannulation. Unless Ms. Baldwin was attempting to perform a hip replacement, she used the wrong terminology.

I believe "femoral sheath" is the term she was searching for. (See for yourself. Google ""femoral capsule" cannulation" and you will get less than a dozen results...all of them related to Ms. Baldwin's mistake, or orthopedic surgery. Then, google ""femoral sheath" cannulation" and you will get a couple thousand links to information about the femoral vessels, (very large blood vessels Ms. Baldwin did not know how to find).

This proves what I saw, immediately...something ANYONE familiar with these procedures would see in reading Baldwin's report...the abundant use of medical terminology in Suspended Animation's report was a farce, a charade, an attempt to DECEIVE an unsuspecting population of laymen into believing Ms. Baldwin and her staff members are capable of performing vascular cannulations and perfusion, (the procedures needed to deliver cryopreservation solutions). They don't even know how to properly describe these procedures, much less perform them!!! All that medical terminology was "smoke and mirrors," designed to deceive cryonicists, and potential cryonicists.

It would take me far too long to write a comprehensive review of SA's most recently published case report, for an audience of laymen. To sum it all up, I'll just say I doubt most of Ms. Baldwin's staff members know the difference between a #10 blade and a butterknife.


FRAUD:
"In the broadest sense, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent.

The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation. Defrauding people or entities of money or valuables is a common purpose of fraud, but there have also been fraudulent "discoveries", e.g. in science, to gain prestige rather than immediate monetary gain."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraud

That's what this is all about...Ms. Baldwin, and other people working in cryonics, (most of them not being medical professionals of any kind), pulling down six-figure salary and benefits packages, and/or adding to their self-esteem (prestige) by being labeled the "president," "manager," or "chief," of anything, no matter how insignificant. If Kent wants Baldwin to dress up in a labcoat, call herself a surgeon, and spew out terminology she's not familiar with, that is what she will do. If Kent wants Harris to sign death certificates without question, place dangerous prescription drugs in the hands of laymen, and make himself look like an idiot by publicly discussing conventional medical procedures he clearly is not familiar with, that is what Harris will do. Everybody has their price, I guess.

What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens at cryonics meetups eventually gets plastered on the Internet.

The people at Cryonics Factsheet hired a ringer, (from Craigslist, no less!), to attend David Styles' launch of EUCRIO. http://www.cryonicsfactsheet.co.uk/

No mention of any real medical professionals, or scientists, being a part of EUCRIO, in spite of Styles' claim to have such professionals available.

There was mention of a documentary being filmed, so no wonder Kent and Baldwin traveled to the other side of the pond. Kent is said to have asked a question about how much experience Styles' teams had, (the answer was none). I doubt Kent will ever get it through his head that it doesn't matter how much experience one has, if one is doing everything all wrong. If he was trying to get a comparison to the US organizations, he should have asked, "How many femoral cannulations and perfusion procedures have you botched?"

History keeps repeating itself, in cryonics, because no one will admit they don't know what they are doing. Their "surgeons" are most often laymen; and a large portion of their 40 years of "research" has been the construction of equipment for procedures they don't know how to perform! (Never mind that conventional medical equipment for most of the procedures they want to perform is readily available, FDA-approved, and significantly less expensive than the price they pay for endless DIY projects from their "garage engineers.")

Apparently, they are as bad at marketing, as they are at performing medical procedures. The UK mole claims there were about 20 people present for Styles' performance, 75% of them already signed up for cryonics. FORTY years and they are 1,990 strong! I'm being generous...I'm including all Alcors members and Cryonics Institute members, including those already in the Dewars and cryostats, even the CI members who are not funded. If we count only the number of living persons who have arranged payment for cryopreservation, the number is a mere 1,352. That's pretty shabby, for 40 years of effort. (Assuming Alcor is not counting the 98 people in the Dewars in their figure for members. If they are, subtract 98, from 1,352.)

People think I am an "enemy of cryonics." My answer to that is, Alcor is not "cryonics," Suspended Animation is not "cryonics," Critical Care Research is not "cryonics," EUCRIO is not "cryonics," Kent and Faloon are not "cryonics." Cryonics is an idea, while these organizations are a mockery of medical science, engaging in attempts to capitalize on the fear of death, in my opinion.

Two questions:
1. Is it appropriate, (and legal), for Alcor to refer to people in the Dewars as "patients"? Who are the physicians taking care of these "patients"??? http://www.alcor.org/AboutAlcor/membershipstats.html

2. Why is it legal for Styles and his friends to label their vehicle as an "ambulance," in the UK? If it isn't manned by bona fide medical professionals, providing emergency medical services, shouldn't that be some sort of fraud?? http://www.cryonicsfactsheet.co.uk/ (Dear Queen Elizabeth...Who's minding your kingdom, when it comes to QUACKERY???)

(Of interest is that my blog has had an explosion of visits from Europe.)

David Styles wants to be the Euro-Kent. His website is very professional in appearance, I'll give him that. All the more reason for the watchdogs of cryonics quackery in the UK to take urgent and immediate action to bring a halt to this foolishness, ASAP.

"Q5. What professionally trained staff will be provided?
A. EUCRIO employs a wide variety of professionals: including physicians, perfusionists, emergency medical technicians, engineers and scientists, throughout the European Union. EUCRIO has staff members ready to intervene across the European Union and all are ready to respond to clients at all time (24 hours a day, 7 days per week)." http://www.eucrio.eu/en/faq

I, for one, do not believe "EUCRIO" has these medical professionals at their disposal. EUCRIO NEEDS TO PROVIDE PROOF OF THESE PROFESSIONALS, OR REMOVE THAT INFORMATION FROM THEIR SITE, IMMEDIATELY.

I question the intelligence of anyone who thinks these people can transport a brain from the UK to Arizona, or Michigan, in a viable state.
http://cryomedical.blogspot.com/2010/09/cryonics-quackery-vs-valid-speculation.html

The laws are pretty strict, when it comes to identifying one's self as a "doctor." I used to know a young man, who was an optometrist. Upon graduation from optometry school, he had his personal checks printed with "Dr. John Doe," and he signed his name that way. One day, he received a very official letter, stating he would suffer some serious consequences if he continued to indicate he was a "doctor," without acknowledging he was an optometrist. In other words, he was required to add "O.D." at the end of his signature, so people would not mistake him for a medical doctor.

So, how is it Catherine Baldwin, Mike Darwin, or anyone else performing cryonics procedures can be identified as a "surgeon," in a report meant for the general public/potential clients? One must be a physician, to be a surgeon, so in a way, Alcor and Suspended Animation seem to be falsely identifying people as physicians, when some of these people have had no formal medical training, AT ALL. Some of their most "qualified" "surgeons" have been veterinarians. Shouldn't cryonics organizations be required, by law, to provide the qualifications of anyone they refer to as a "surgeon" (physician).

There's a very well-written definition of QUACKERY, by Stephen Barrett, MD. It suits cryonics, perfectly, especially with this statement: "Most people think of quackery as promoted by charlatans who deliberately exploit their victims. Actually, most promoters are unwitting victims who share misinformation and personal experiences with others." http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/quackdef.html

Alcor, and other companies engaging in cryonics activities, seem to think they can get away with anything, as long as they call it "speculation," or insert some sort of disclaimer in the small print of their advertisements and contracts. Let's compare true medical speculation to quackery:

Hypothetical Situation A: A reputable group of scientific researchers determine that Drug X, delivered at 40 degrees C, (normal human body temp is approximately 37C), for a period of 60 minutes, kills HIV in human tissue in vitro, and in animal testing. They speculate this technique will cure HIV, in human patients. With the proper regulatory approvals, they enlist qualified vascular surgeons and perfusionists, to deliver Drug X to willing test subjects. The drug may, or may not, work, in a living person, but the researchers believe it will. That's SPECULATIVE, but genuine, RESEARCH.

Hypothetical Situation B: A group of scientific researchers believes delivering Drug Z to people, at the time of their legal death, while lowering their temperature to that of liquid nitrogen vapor, will preserve the brains of these people in a condition that may be viable in the future. Instead of enlisting qualified vascular surgeons and perfusionists, to perform the procedures, they allow unskilled laymen to deliver their medications and solutions. That's QUACKERY.

Even if the medical scientists in Hypothetical Situation A had come up with a valid treatment, but enlisted layman to deliver their treatment, that would be QUACKERY and, most likely, every single one of their test subjects would have died during the treatment. Vascular cannulations and perfusion are NOT tasks for golf pros, or metal fabricators, or store clerks, or shoe salesmen...they are tasks for skilled professionals. If they are performed incorrectly, the result is DEATH.

Catherine Baldwin, Manager of Suspended Animation, in Boynton Beach, Florida, dared to refer to herself as the "backup surgeon," in the Curtis Henderson case, (CI-95) but judging by her own reports and other witnesses, Ms. Baldwin and her Suspended Animation team members, kept Mr. Henderson at relatively warm temperatures, for many hours, while she sliced away on him, unable to find his femoral vessels, (some of the largest vessels in the human body). That's QUACKERY.

I happen to think cryonics is some combination of Dr. Barrett's definition of "quackery," coupled with a lot of intentional deceit, on the part of a handful of people who are making a lot of money, working for certain cryonics organizations.