Inducing Artificial Hypothermia ????

R

remnyc

Registered Member
I am writing a sci-fi story and was wondering if it is possible to actually induce and artifical hypothermic state.

Possibly a combination of an ice -blanket and some injections of some substance...

does any body have any thoughts?

Thanks
 
Physiology researches induce hypothermia in test subject all the time in order to study how the body responds. The most common method is simply having the person sit in a tub of cold water for a while.
 
Medications??

Are there any medications that can be injected that would lower your heart rate like a hypothermic victim?
 
Look in barbiturates for possible drugs.

What are you looking for some form of induce hibernation? For that to work you need to keep a person hypothermic and also need to oxygenate, run there blood through dialysis and give then nutrients at the same time. Almost forgot about urine got to get ride of that (or recycle it). Keeping a person at below 40°F you might need to pump there ice cold blood for them so you need to stop their heart (at those temps it might stop by its self) and pump the blood through tubes attach to a central artery and vain. Such a setup might look like a artificial umbilical cord would be very interesting.

Induced hypothermia is done in real life it is best to see how they do it.
 
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Thanks

Thanks for the very interesting replies....

In the story the character needs to be in this state only temporarily. lets say for a couple of hours.

So he has to enter this hypothermic state and then a few hours later be brought out of it..... kind of like in the movie flatliners....except without the dieing part.....

I was hoping there was some injections or pills he could take and then perhaps..... another pill to counter act it or maybe the electric heart panels could revive him.

hopefully this makes sense.

Thanks
 
Your welcome.

Go with what ever they do in surgery (I think just tranquilizers and a thermal control bath or bed) I never heard of sustained hypothermia for more then 1 hour though, go with oxygenated lung pumping, also they might urinate allot as hypothermic state have been know to cause the kidneys capilaries to dilate so your going to need to get ride of the urine some way (or not would make for a interesting waking up :D )
 
I would suggest that you do not go too far into the technical details. As long as you write fiction, it is enough that the procedure you decribe has probability. The average reader will not bother about detals. I'd suggest you "invent" a drug that lowers metablosm and body temp, and an antidote to wake them up. You could add cathetering for urine for a bit of juiciness, and some unpleasant side-effect during wakeup for drama, but otherwise, your story should be what kept the readers interested, not the technicalities.

Have you noticed that if Arthur C. Clarke had not been such a brilliant writer, most of his novels would have been terribly boring, due to all the technicalities?

Hans
 
thanks

thanks for the reply.

I definately see your point about not getting to technical for fiction sake.

However, I am surprised that I would have to "invent" a drug that would lower metabolism....

There is no drug that currently does that?
 
Maybe. I don't think there is a single drug that will just make you stable in a hypothermia condition. But that is the point: If you name the drug, somebody who knows about it, ot thinks he knows, will say "EEeeww, that drug doesn't work like that!", but if you invent a new one, it will simply be your literary freedom.

Hans
 
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