[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":521},["ShallowReactive",2],{"wiki-cryosleep":3},{"wiki":4,"featuredArticle":147,"featured":305,"ebooks":438},{"id":5,"date":6,"date_gmt":7,"guid":8,"modified":10,"modified_gmt":11,"slug":12,"status":13,"type":14,"link":15,"title":16,"content":18,"excerpt":21,"author":23,"featured_media":24,"comment_status":25,"ping_status":25,"template":26,"yst_prominent_words":27,"class_list":35,"better_featured_image":41,"acf":86,"yoast_meta":110,"_links":113},33609,"2021-03-21T16:31:10","2021-03-21T15:31:10",{"rendered":9},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002F?post_type=wiki&p=33609","2021-03-21T16:31:12","2021-03-21T15:31:12","cryosleep","publish","wiki","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwiki\u002Fcryosleep\u002F",{"rendered":17},"Cryosleep",{"rendered":19,"protected":20},"\n\u003Cp>Cryonics means the low-temperature preservation of a human corpse, with the hope that one day it can be restored to life and full health. Bodies are cooled down to -200 Celsius and placed in a container of liquid nitrogen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>If we could make it work, it would really be a game-changer — from saving terminally ill patients, to solving one of the main problems of interstellar travels. And there are many attempts to make it a reality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Overview of cryonics, cryosleep, and cryotherapy:\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Are You Going To Wake Up From Cryosleep? - The Medical Futurist\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FZ9H8gKsCcu4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003C\u002Fiframe>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The trouble with cryogenics and cryosleep is pure physics: our cells are filled with water. And when you freeze water, it expands and forms crystals, which irreversibly damage the body. No matter what, some people are still hopeful. For example, Anders Sandberg, of Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute, told The Guardian that he will pay for his head to be frozen in the hope that the brain’s contents might be “downloaded” into a robotic agent in the future. He gives the freezing, thawing and reanimation process “maybe a 5% chance” of working.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Perhaps the popularity of cryotherapy will fade as “the next big thing” comes, maybe we will never know whether cryopreservation works, but cryosleep will definitely develop further – as the most promising technology for interstellar travels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n",false,{"rendered":22,"protected":20},"\u003Cp>Cryonics means the low-temperature preservation of a human corpse, with the hope that one day it can be restored to life and full health. Bodies […]\u003C\u002Fp>\n",6,22137,"closed","",[28,29,30,31,32,33,34],1751,1753,1773,1721,3887,1765,1775,[36,14,37,38,39,40],"post-33609","type-wiki","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry",{"id":24,"alt_text":42,"caption":26,"description":42,"media_type":43,"media_details":44,"post":84,"source_url":85},"TMF, Cryosleep","image",{"width":45,"height":46,"file":47,"sizes":48,"image_meta":81},870,489,"2018\u002F10\u002F043_hibernation.png",{"medium":49,"large":55,"thumbnail":60,"medium_large":64,"large_old_512x288":65,"thumbnail_old_150x150":70,"medium_old_370x208":72,"medium_large_old_768x432":75,"large_old_512x288_old_512x288":78},{"file":50,"width":51,"height":52,"mime-type":53,"source_url":54},"043_hibernation-370x208.png",370,208,"image\u002Fpng","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F043_hibernation-370x208.png",{"file":56,"width":57,"height":58,"mime-type":53,"source_url":59},"043_hibernation-768x432.png",768,432,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F043_hibernation-768x432.png",{"file":61,"width":62,"height":62,"mime-type":53,"source_url":63},"043_hibernation-150x150.png",150,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F043_hibernation-150x150.png",{"file":56,"width":57,"height":58,"mime-type":53,"source_url":59},{"file":66,"width":67,"height":68,"mime-type":53,"source_url":69},"043_hibernation-512x288.png",512,288,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F043_hibernation-512x288.png",{"file":61,"width":71,"height":71,"mime-type":53,"source_url":63},"150",{"file":50,"width":73,"height":74,"mime-type":53,"source_url":54},"370","208",{"file":56,"width":76,"height":77,"mime-type":53,"source_url":59},"768","432",{"file":66,"width":79,"height":80,"mime-type":53,"source_url":69},"512","288",{"aperture":82,"credit":26,"camera":26,"caption":26,"created_timestamp":82,"copyright":26,"focal_length":82,"iso":82,"shutter_speed":82,"title":26,"orientation":82,"keywords":83},"0",[],22092,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F10\u002F043_hibernation.png",{"sub_title":87,"lead":88,"featured_article":89,"featured_article_title":103,"ebooks":104,"featured":106},"Cryosleep health defined, explained, and explored","\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-sheets-value=\"{"1":2,"2":"If you ever placed a pack of ice on an injured muscle, you already used it and know the benefits. The difference is that cryotherapy usually doesn’t use water or ice, only extremely low temperatures. In the case of whole-body cryotherapy, offered by one of the companies in the cryo business, patients sit or step into a cryotherapy booth for 3-5 minutes. The method is used to relieve muscle pain, sprains and swelling after soft tissue damage or surgery. \\n\\nLearn more about cryosleep from The Medical Futurist:\\nWhat if I let my body preserve in ice – can I be recreated somehow in the future?\\nAre there people in cryosleep already? \\nCan they be woken up?"}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{"2":4480,"10":2,"11":4,"15":"Arial"}\">Cryonics means the low-temperature preservation of a human corpse, with the hope that one day it can be restored to life and full health. Bodies are cooled down to -200 Celsius and placed in a container of liquid nitrogen.\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trouble with cryogenics and cryosleep is pure physics: our cells are filled with water. And when you freeze water, it expands and forms crystals, which irreversibly damages the body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Cspan data-sheets-value=\"{"1":2,"2":"If you ever placed a pack of ice on an injured muscle, you already used it and know the benefits. The difference is that cryotherapy usually doesn’t use water or ice, only extremely low temperatures. In the case of whole-body cryotherapy, offered by one of the companies in the cryo business, patients sit or step into a cryotherapy booth for 3-5 minutes. The method is used to relieve muscle pain, sprains and swelling after soft tissue damage or surgery. \\n\\nLearn more about cryosleep from The Medical Futurist:\\nWhat if I let my body preserve in ice – can I be recreated somehow in the future?\\nAre there people in cryosleep already? \\nCan they be woken up?"}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{"2":4480,"10":2,"11":4,"15":"Arial"}\">Learn more about cryosleep from The Medical Futurist:\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cspan data-sheets-value=\"{"1":2,"2":"If you ever placed a pack of ice on an injured muscle, you already used it and know the benefits. The difference is that cryotherapy usually doesn’t use water or ice, only extremely low temperatures. In the case of whole-body cryotherapy, offered by one of the companies in the cryo business, patients sit or step into a cryotherapy booth for 3-5 minutes. The method is used to relieve muscle pain, sprains and swelling after soft tissue damage or surgery. \\n\\nLearn more about cryosleep from The Medical Futurist:\\nWhat if I let my body preserve in ice – can I be recreated somehow in the future?\\nAre there people in cryosleep already? \\nCan they be woken up?"}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{"2":4480,"10":2,"11":4,"15":"Arial"}\">What if I let my body preserve in ice – can I be recreated somehow in the future?\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cspan data-sheets-value=\"{"1":2,"2":"If you ever placed a pack of ice on an injured muscle, you already used it and know the benefits. The difference is that cryotherapy usually doesn’t use water or ice, only extremely low temperatures. In the case of whole-body cryotherapy, offered by one of the companies in the cryo business, patients sit or step into a cryotherapy booth for 3-5 minutes. The method is used to relieve muscle pain, sprains and swelling after soft tissue damage or surgery. \\n\\nLearn more about cryosleep from The Medical Futurist:\\nWhat if I let my body preserve in ice – can I be recreated somehow in the future?\\nAre there people in cryosleep already? \\nCan they be woken up?"}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{"2":4480,"10":2,"11":4,"15":"Arial"}\">Are there people in cryosleep already?\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cspan data-sheets-value=\"{"1":2,"2":"If you ever placed a pack of ice on an injured muscle, you already used it and know the benefits. The difference is that cryotherapy usually doesn’t use water or ice, only extremely low temperatures. In the case of whole-body cryotherapy, offered by one of the companies in the cryo business, patients sit or step into a cryotherapy booth for 3-5 minutes. The method is used to relieve muscle pain, sprains and swelling after soft tissue damage or surgery. \\n\\nLearn more about cryosleep from The Medical Futurist:\\nWhat if I let my body preserve in ice – can I be recreated somehow in the future?\\nAre there people in cryosleep already? \\nCan they be woken up?"}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{"2":4480,"10":2,"11":4,"15":"Arial"}\">Can they be woken up?\u003C\u002Fspan>\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n",{"ID":84,"post_author":90,"post_date":91,"post_date_gmt":92,"post_content":93,"post_title":94,"post_excerpt":95,"post_status":13,"comment_status":25,"ping_status":25,"post_password":26,"post_name":96,"to_ping":26,"pinged":26,"post_modified":97,"post_modified_gmt":98,"post_content_filtered":26,"post_parent":99,"guid":100,"menu_order":99,"post_type":101,"post_mime_type":26,"comment_count":82,"filter":102},"6","2025-06-17 10:11:18","2025-06-17 08:11:18","\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>More than 500 people let their bodies have cooled down to -200 Celsius and preserved in liquid nitrogen in the hope that someday in the future, science will be able to cheat death and make them wake up from their Sleeping Beauty state. As of today, no one knows whether they will ever have the chance for a second life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading -->\n\u003Ch2>\u003Cstrong>Relax, David, open your eyes!\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>That’s the last line from \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.imdb.com\u002Ftitle\u002Ftt0259711\u002F?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vanilla Sky\u003C\u002Fa>, the movie remake about a wealthy playboy in cryosleep waking up after 150 years from his lucid dream (starring Tom Cruise as David). The audience doesn’t know what happens next, and whether he can survive the procedure, not to speak about living in a society where every one of his friends and relatives is dead, and people live a completely different way of life than he was used to. \u003Cstrong>Concerns about the feasibility of cryonics as well as its “afterlife” are as old as the birth of the idea that people could fall asleep for a long time and wake up as if nothing happened\u003C\u002Fstrong> – isn’t Sleeping Beauty about cryonics, really?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Nevertheless, the idea of preserving bodies in some liquid cooled down to below zero temperatures appears in many sci-fi movies indicating the concept has interested the audience already for a while. Do you remember \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=E-AmHZ17gWM\" target=\"_blank\">Han Solo being hibernated in The Empire Strikes Back\u003C\u002Fa>? And \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=WCtkibZqSpk\" target=\"_blank\">Ellen Ripley and the crew waking up\u003C\u002Fa> in a cryotube used for interstellar travel in the Alien series? Recently, cryonics and cryosleep are getting more and more attention as billionaires from Silicon Valley start to look at it as a real possibility to avoid death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Moreover, its principle is backed by news about \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.uni-stuttgart.de\u002Fen\u002Funiversity\u002Fnews\u002Fall\u002FSleeping-Beauty-in-an-ice-cube-How-tardigrades-survive-freezing-temperatures\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">a revived tardigrade\u003C\u002Fa> (tiny, water-dwelling organism) that had been frozen for more than three decades; and news about how scientists are trying to de-extinct the woolly mammoth. Back in 2013, Russian scientists \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.history.com\u002Fnews\u002Fcan-scientists-clone-a-woolly-mammoth-should-they\" target=\"_blank\">discovered\u003C\u002Fa> a well-preserved woolly mammoth carcass trapped in the permafrost of northern Siberia for some 42,000 years. They named the specimen Buttercup (of course). Now, George Church and his team are trying to extract DNA from the ancient mammoth specimen and use gene editing to combine it with that of the Asian elephant. Such news could give ideas to some people: what if I let my body preserve in ice, too, and will be recreated somehow in the future?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading -->\n\u003Ch2>\u003Cstrong>The brief history of cryonics\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>That’s precisely the basic idea of cryonics. The word itself is also \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fscience.howstuffworks.com\u002Flife\u002Fgenetic\u002Fcryonics4.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">derived from the Greek term for “cold”\u003C\u002Fa>, and \u003Cstrong>it means the low-temperature preservation of a human corpse, with the hope that one day it can be restored to life and full health. Bodies are cooled down to -200 Celsius and placed in a container of liquid nitrogen\u003C\u002Fstrong>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Michigan professor, Robert Ettinger proposed \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Ftechnology\u002F2008\u002Ffeb\u002F14\u002Fresearch.cryonics\" target=\"_blank\">cryonics\u003C\u002Fa> in 1964 in a book called The Prospect of Immortality, which argued that death could, in fact, be a reversible process. The first person to be cryopreserved was Dr. James Bedford in 1967. He died of kidney cancer, but his will was to be put into a cryo-chamber, in hopes that one day in the future, doctors would be able to bring him back. Ettinger, who died in 2011, went on to found the \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.cryonics.org\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">Cryonics Institute\u003C\u002Fa> in Michigan where he, his mother and his first and second wives all now reside in metal flasks kept at −196 °C.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:image {\"id\":56027,\"sizeSlug\":\"full\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} -->\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003Cimg src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2024\u002F05\u002Fcryosleep.jpg\" alt=\"cryosleep, stasis chambers, cryonics\" class=\"wp-image-56027\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:image -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Although the concept has never become mainstream, around six companies were established in the 1970s to use the technology. However, the majority could not cover the fixed costs of preserving the bodies, thus they went bankrupt, and the number of people choosing to sign up is steadily increasing year on year. \u003Cstrong>There are now \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fscience\u002F2016\u002Fnov\u002F18\u002Fthe-cryonics-dilemma-will-deep-frozen-bodies-be-fit-for-new-life\">nearly 300 cryogenically frozen individuals in the US, another 50 in Russia\u003C\u002Fa>, and a few thousand prospective candidates signed up. There are even more than 30 pets at \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.alcor.org\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">Alcor’s\u003C\u002Fa> chambers, the largest cryonics organization in the world in Arizona, that has been around since 1972.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>One tiny problem though. We’re not sure if we can wake them up – no matter how convincingly cryogenics companies are stating it otherwise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading -->\n\u003Ch2>\u003Cstrong>Traveling in cryosleep\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003Cstrong> to Mars?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>That’s the same trouble with cryosleep, the most popular means of travel for sci-fi movies and literature where protagonists go to other planets by light years. However, \u003Cstrong>if we could make it work, it would really be a game-changer — from saving terminally ill patients to solving one of the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nasa.gov\u002Fcenters-and-facilities\u002Fglenn\u002Fbrr-its-cold-in-here-nasas-cryo-efforts-beyond-the-atmosphere\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">main problems of interstellar travels\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fstrong> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>And there are many attempts to make it a reality. An Atlanta-based startup, \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.spaceworks.aero\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">Space Works Enterprises\u003C\u002Fa> was working with NASA to develop a stasis chamber (but the project \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.spaceworks.aero\u002Ftag\u002Fhuman-stasis\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">seems to be dumped\u003C\u002Fa>). According to the original idea, the module lowers the body temperature to 32 Celsius and creates mild hypothermia. And with multiple sessions, a room like that could be a massive advancement in space travel. But it’s not suspended animation, it’s rather \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nasa.gov\u002Fgeneral\u002Ftorpor-inducing-transfer-habitat-for-human-stasis-to-mars-2\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">deep sleep called torpor\u003C\u002Fa> significantly reducing metabolic rates for humans over extended periods. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>However, The Medical Futurist is not sure whether a form of deep sleep will be enough if we want to travel light years. We suspect we’ll need to come up with something better and for that, we’ll need more research into cryogenics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading -->\n\u003Ch2>\u003Cstrong>Wake me up when cryosleep ends\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>The trouble with cryogenics and cryosleep is pure physics: our cells are filled with water. And when you freeze water, it expands and forms crystals, which irreversibly damage the body. \u003C\u002Fstrong>The Cryonics Institute is trying to fix that problem by \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.dailymail.co.uk\u002Fsciencetech\u002Farticle-5270257\u002FCryogenics-corpses-brought-10-years.html\" target=\"_blank\">draining the blood and replacing it with an antifreeze fluid to stop harmful ice crystals from forming\u003C\u002Fa> in the body. At Alcor, they use a process called vitrification. They substitute the water in the cells with an antifreeze agent. So when the tissues are cooled to cryogenic temperatures, instead of crystallizing into ice, the chemicals clump together and become solid, molecularly similar to glass. And this new glass form prevents the cells from bursting and, theoretically, holds them in stasis forever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>However, \u003Cstrong>recent advances in medicine have not proven yet that such complex systems as the human circulatory system or the brain can be “stored” with the help of anti-freeze material without causing damage\u003C\u002Fstrong>. Clive Coen, a professor of neuroscience at King’s College London says that on the one hand, the massively dense brain tissues cannot be handled by anti-freeze, and on the other, by the time the cryonics team arrives at the bedside of a patient who just passed away, some neurons are already irreversibly dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:image {\"id\":56029,\"sizeSlug\":\"full\",\"linkDestination\":\"none\"} -->\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003Cimg src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2024\u002F05\u002Fcryosleep-2.jpg\" alt=\"cryosleep, stasis chambers, cryonics\" class=\"wp-image-56029\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:image -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>No matter what, some people are still hopeful. For example, Anders Sandberg, \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fhi.ox.ac.uk\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">of Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute\u003C\u002Fa> (a research hub sadly closed down in April 2024), \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fscience\u002F2016\u002Fnov\u002F18\u002Fthe-cryonics-dilemma-will-deep-frozen-bodies-be-fit-for-new-life\">told The Guardian\u003C\u002Fa> that he would pay for his head to be frozen in the hope that the brain’s contents might be “downloaded” into a robotic agent in the future. He gives the freezing, thawing and reanimation process “maybe a 5% chance” of working.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:heading -->\n\u003Ch2>\u003Cstrong>Want to be fit and well? Jump into a cryochamber!\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:heading -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>It’s understandable why people are not standing in huge lines in front of cryonics companies to be preserved upon death. At the same time, the idea of cryotherapies and the use of “freezing cold temperatures” for better health have become more and more popular in the last couple of years – especially since celebrities and sportsmen, such as \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.health.harvard.edu\u002Fblog\u002Fcan-cryotherapy-stop-your-pain-cold-or-is-just-a-lot-of-hot-air-2018041813612\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Aniston, and LeBron James\u003C\u002Fa> embraced the technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Of course, the concept itself is nothing new – only the technology. \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fprogrammes\u002Farticles\u002FXTsflSzkDtQDDygCr9FbRG\u002Fare-ice-baths-and-cold-water-really-that-good-for-us\" target=\"_blank\">Using cold water or hydrotherapy is an ancient practice\u003C\u002Fa>. Hippocrates recommended bathing in spring water to ‘allay lassitude’, and the ancient Egyptians turned it into an art form with essential oils and flowers. \u003Cstrong>If you ever placed a pack of ice on an injured muscle, you already used it and know the benefits. Here, the difference is that cryotherapy usually doesn’t use water or ice, only extremely low temperatures. In the case of \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.webmd.com\u002Fpain-management\u002Fwhat-is-whole-body-cryotherapy\" target=\"_blank\">whole-body cryotherapy\u003C\u002Fa>, patients sit or step into a cryotherapy booth for 3-5 minutes. The method is used to relieve muscle pain, sprains and swelling after soft tissue damage or surgery. \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>It has to be noted, though, that in spite of its popularity, there’s no convincing evidence about its proven long-term advantages yet. The \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.health.harvard.edu\u002Fblog\u002Fcan-cryotherapy-stop-your-pain-cold-or-is-just-a-lot-of-hot-air-2018041813612\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">escalating claims of benefit and rising demand led the\u003C\u002Fa> \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fda.gov\u002FForConsumers\u002FConsumerUpdates\u002Fucm508739.htm\">FDA to warn consumers\u003C\u002Fa> recently that, “If you decide to try whole-body cryotherapy, know that the FDA has not cleared or approved any of these devices for medical treatment of any specific medical conditions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:paragraph -->\n\u003Cp>Nevertheless, cryotherapy, cryosleep, and cryogenics are here to stay. Perhaps the popularity of cryotherapy will fade as “the next big thing” comes, maybe we will never know whether cryopreservation works, but cryosleep will definitely develop further – as the most promising technology for interstellar travels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:paragraph -->\n\n\u003C!-- wp:html -->\n\u003Ctable style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #eee; border-top: 4px solid #444;\" cellpadding=\"10px\">\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd style=\"width: 100%;\">\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>At The Medical Futurist, we are building a community for making a bold vision about the future of healthcare reality today.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FFIbMejImnxs\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\">\u003C\u002Fiframe>\n\u003Cp>If you'd like to support this mission, we invite you to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.patreon.com\u002Fthemedicalfuturist\">join The Medical Futurist Patreon Community\u003C\u002Fa>. A community of empowered patients, future-oriented healthcare professionals, concerned health policymakers, sensible health tech developers, and enthusiastic medical students. If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Every contribution, however big or small, powers our research and sustains our future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.patreon.com\u002Fthemedicalfuturist\">\u003Cstrong style=\"background-color: #e71d3299; color: #000;\">Click here to support The Medical Futurist from as little as $3\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fa> – it only takes a minute. Thank you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\n\u003C\u002Ftbody>\n\u003C\u002Ftable>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C!-- \u002Fwp:html -->","Are You Going To Wake Up From Cryosleep?","Cryosleep and cryonics are getting more and more attention. Here's everything you need to know about cryosleep & cryogenic sleep chambers","are-you-going-to-wake-up-from-cryosleep","2025-06-17 10:11:19","2025-06-17 08:11:19",0,"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002F","post","raw","More about Cryosleep",[105],24765,[84,107,108,109],22374,13151,13916,{"yoast_wpseo_title":111,"yoast_wpseo_metadesc":112,"yoast_wpseo_canonical":15},"What is Cryosleep? Cryonics, Cryosleep and Cryotherapy Explained","What is Cryosleep? Cryosleep is the process of low-temperature preservation of a human body, hoping that one day it can be restored to life.",{"self":114,"collection":120,"about":123,"author":126,"replies":130,"wp:featuredmedia":133,"wp:attachment":136,"wp:term":139,"curies":143},[115],{"href":116,"targetHints":117},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fwiki\u002F33609",{"allow":118},[119],"GET",[121],{"href":122},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fwiki",[124],{"href":125},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftypes\u002Fwiki",[127],{"embeddable":128,"href":129},true,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fusers\u002F6",[131],{"embeddable":128,"href":132},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcomments?post=33609",[134],{"embeddable":128,"href":135},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia\u002F22137",[137],{"href":138},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia?parent=33609",[140],{"taxonomy":141,"embeddable":128,"href":142},"yst_prominent_words","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fyst_prominent_words?post=33609",[144],{"name":145,"href":146,"templated":128},"wp","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.w.org\u002F{rel}",{"id":84,"date":148,"date_gmt":149,"guid":150,"modified":151,"modified_gmt":152,"slug":96,"status":13,"type":101,"link":153,"title":154,"content":155,"excerpt":157,"author":23,"featured_media":24,"comment_status":25,"ping_status":25,"sticky":128,"template":26,"format":159,"meta":160,"categories":161,"tags":166,"project_category":182,"contact_email_category":185,"yst_prominent_words":186,"class_list":200,"better_featured_image":225,"acf":239,"yoast_meta":256,"_links":258},"2025-06-17T10:11:18","2025-06-17T08:11:18",{"rendered":100},"2025-06-17T10:11:19","2025-06-17T08:11:19","https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fare-you-going-to-wake-up-from-cryosleep",{"rendered":94},{"rendered":156,"protected":20},"\n\u003Cp>More than 500 people let their bodies have cooled down to -200 Celsius and preserved in liquid nitrogen in the hope that someday in the future, science will be able to cheat death and make them wake up from their Sleeping Beauty state. As of today, no one knows whether they will ever have the chance for a second life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Relax, David, open your eyes!\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>That’s the last line from \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.imdb.com\u002Ftitle\u002Ftt0259711\u002F?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vanilla Sky\u003C\u002Fa>, the movie remake about a wealthy playboy in cryosleep waking up after 150 years from his lucid dream (starring Tom Cruise as David). The audience doesn’t know what happens next, and whether he can survive the procedure, not to speak about living in a society where every one of his friends and relatives is dead, and people live a completely different way of life than he was used to. \u003Cstrong>Concerns about the feasibility of cryonics as well as its “afterlife” are as old as the birth of the idea that people could fall asleep for a long time and wake up as if nothing happened\u003C\u002Fstrong> – isn’t Sleeping Beauty about cryonics, really?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Nevertheless, the idea of preserving bodies in some liquid cooled down to below zero temperatures appears in many sci-fi movies indicating the concept has interested the audience already for a while. Do you remember \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=E-AmHZ17gWM\" target=\"_blank\">Han Solo being hibernated in The Empire Strikes Back\u003C\u002Fa>? And \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=WCtkibZqSpk\" target=\"_blank\">Ellen Ripley and the crew waking up\u003C\u002Fa> in a cryotube used for interstellar travel in the Alien series? Recently, cryonics and cryosleep are getting more and more attention as billionaires from Silicon Valley start to look at it as a real possibility to avoid death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Moreover, its principle is backed by news about \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.uni-stuttgart.de\u002Fen\u002Funiversity\u002Fnews\u002Fall\u002FSleeping-Beauty-in-an-ice-cube-How-tardigrades-survive-freezing-temperatures\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">a revived tardigrade\u003C\u002Fa> (tiny, water-dwelling organism) that had been frozen for more than three decades; and news about how scientists are trying to de-extinct the woolly mammoth. Back in 2013, Russian scientists \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.history.com\u002Fnews\u002Fcan-scientists-clone-a-woolly-mammoth-should-they\" target=\"_blank\">discovered\u003C\u002Fa> a well-preserved woolly mammoth carcass trapped in the permafrost of northern Siberia for some 42,000 years. They named the specimen Buttercup (of course). Now, George Church and his team are trying to extract DNA from the ancient mammoth specimen and use gene editing to combine it with that of the Asian elephant. Such news could give ideas to some people: what if I let my body preserve in ice, too, and will be recreated somehow in the future?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>The brief history of cryonics\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>That’s precisely the basic idea of cryonics. The word itself is also \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fscience.howstuffworks.com\u002Flife\u002Fgenetic\u002Fcryonics4.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">derived from the Greek term for “cold”\u003C\u002Fa>, and \u003Cstrong>it means the low-temperature preservation of a human corpse, with the hope that one day it can be restored to life and full health. Bodies are cooled down to -200 Celsius and placed in a container of liquid nitrogen\u003C\u002Fstrong>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Michigan professor, Robert Ettinger proposed \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Ftechnology\u002F2008\u002Ffeb\u002F14\u002Fresearch.cryonics\" target=\"_blank\">cryonics\u003C\u002Fa> in 1964 in a book called The Prospect of Immortality, which argued that death could, in fact, be a reversible process. The first person to be cryopreserved was Dr. James Bedford in 1967. He died of kidney cancer, but his will was to be put into a cryo-chamber, in hopes that one day in the future, doctors would be able to bring him back. Ettinger, who died in 2011, went on to found the \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.cryonics.org\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">Cryonics Institute\u003C\u002Fa> in Michigan where he, his mother and his first and second wives all now reside in metal flasks kept at −196 °C.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1792\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2024\u002F05\u002Fcryosleep.jpg\" alt=\"cryosleep, stasis chambers, cryonics\" class=\"wp-image-56027\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2024\u002F05\u002Fcryosleep.jpg 1792w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2024\u002F05\u002Fcryosleep-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2024\u002F05\u002Fcryosleep-1536x878.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1792px) 100vw, 1792px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Although the concept has never become mainstream, around six companies were established in the 1970s to use the technology. However, the majority could not cover the fixed costs of preserving the bodies, thus they went bankrupt, and the number of people choosing to sign up is steadily increasing year on year. \u003Cstrong>There are now \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fscience\u002F2016\u002Fnov\u002F18\u002Fthe-cryonics-dilemma-will-deep-frozen-bodies-be-fit-for-new-life\">nearly 300 cryogenically frozen individuals in the US, another 50 in Russia\u003C\u002Fa>, and a few thousand prospective candidates signed up. There are even more than 30 pets at \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.alcor.org\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">Alcor’s\u003C\u002Fa> chambers, the largest cryonics organization in the world in Arizona, that has been around since 1972.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>One tiny problem though. We’re not sure if we can wake them up – no matter how convincingly cryogenics companies are stating it otherwise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Traveling in cryosleep\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003Cstrong> to Mars?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>That’s the same trouble with cryosleep, the most popular means of travel for sci-fi movies and literature where protagonists go to other planets by light years. However, \u003Cstrong>if we could make it work, it would really be a game-changer — from saving terminally ill patients to solving one of the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nasa.gov\u002Fcenters-and-facilities\u002Fglenn\u002Fbrr-its-cold-in-here-nasas-cryo-efforts-beyond-the-atmosphere\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">main problems of interstellar travels\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fstrong> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>And there are many attempts to make it a reality. An Atlanta-based startup, \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.spaceworks.aero\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">Space Works Enterprises\u003C\u002Fa> was working with NASA to develop a stasis chamber (but the project \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.spaceworks.aero\u002Ftag\u002Fhuman-stasis\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">seems to be dumped\u003C\u002Fa>). According to the original idea, the module lowers the body temperature to 32 Celsius and creates mild hypothermia. And with multiple sessions, a room like that could be a massive advancement in space travel. But it’s not suspended animation, it’s rather \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.nasa.gov\u002Fgeneral\u002Ftorpor-inducing-transfer-habitat-for-human-stasis-to-mars-2\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">deep sleep called torpor\u003C\u002Fa> significantly reducing metabolic rates for humans over extended periods. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>However, The Medical Futurist is not sure whether a form of deep sleep will be enough if we want to travel light years. We suspect we’ll need to come up with something better and for that, we’ll need more research into cryogenics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Wake me up when cryosleep ends\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>The trouble with cryogenics and cryosleep is pure physics: our cells are filled with water. And when you freeze water, it expands and forms crystals, which irreversibly damage the body. \u003C\u002Fstrong>The Cryonics Institute is trying to fix that problem by \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.dailymail.co.uk\u002Fsciencetech\u002Farticle-5270257\u002FCryogenics-corpses-brought-10-years.html\" target=\"_blank\">draining the blood and replacing it with an antifreeze fluid to stop harmful ice crystals from forming\u003C\u002Fa> in the body. At Alcor, they use a process called vitrification. They substitute the water in the cells with an antifreeze agent. So when the tissues are cooled to cryogenic temperatures, instead of crystallizing into ice, the chemicals clump together and become solid, molecularly similar to glass. And this new glass form prevents the cells from bursting and, theoretically, holds them in stasis forever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>However, \u003Cstrong>recent advances in medicine have not proven yet that such complex systems as the human circulatory system or the brain can be “stored” with the help of anti-freeze material without causing damage\u003C\u002Fstrong>. Clive Coen, a professor of neuroscience at King’s College London says that on the one hand, the massively dense brain tissues cannot be handled by anti-freeze, and on the other, by the time the cryonics team arrives at the bedside of a patient who just passed away, some neurons are already irreversibly dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1792\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2024\u002F05\u002Fcryosleep-2.jpg\" alt=\"cryosleep, stasis chambers, cryonics\" class=\"wp-image-56029\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2024\u002F05\u002Fcryosleep-2.jpg 1792w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2024\u002F05\u002Fcryosleep-2-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2024\u002F05\u002Fcryosleep-2-1536x878.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1792px) 100vw, 1792px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>No matter what, some people are still hopeful. For example, Anders Sandberg, \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fhi.ox.ac.uk\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">of Oxford University’s Future of Humanity Institute\u003C\u002Fa> (a research hub sadly closed down in April 2024), \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Fscience\u002F2016\u002Fnov\u002F18\u002Fthe-cryonics-dilemma-will-deep-frozen-bodies-be-fit-for-new-life\">told The Guardian\u003C\u002Fa> that he would pay for his head to be frozen in the hope that the brain’s contents might be “downloaded” into a robotic agent in the future. He gives the freezing, thawing and reanimation process “maybe a 5% chance” of working.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Want to be fit and well? Jump into a cryochamber!\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>It’s understandable why people are not standing in huge lines in front of cryonics companies to be preserved upon death. At the same time, the idea of cryotherapies and the use of “freezing cold temperatures” for better health have become more and more popular in the last couple of years – especially since celebrities and sportsmen, such as \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.health.harvard.edu\u002Fblog\u002Fcan-cryotherapy-stop-your-pain-cold-or-is-just-a-lot-of-hot-air-2018041813612\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Aniston, and LeBron James\u003C\u002Fa> embraced the technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Of course, the concept itself is nothing new – only the technology. \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bbc.co.uk\u002Fprogrammes\u002Farticles\u002FXTsflSzkDtQDDygCr9FbRG\u002Fare-ice-baths-and-cold-water-really-that-good-for-us\" target=\"_blank\">Using cold water or hydrotherapy is an ancient practice\u003C\u002Fa>. Hippocrates recommended bathing in spring water to ‘allay lassitude’, and the ancient Egyptians turned it into an art form with essential oils and flowers. \u003Cstrong>If you ever placed a pack of ice on an injured muscle, you already used it and know the benefits. Here, the difference is that cryotherapy usually doesn’t use water or ice, only extremely low temperatures. In the case of \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.webmd.com\u002Fpain-management\u002Fwhat-is-whole-body-cryotherapy\" target=\"_blank\">whole-body cryotherapy\u003C\u002Fa>, patients sit or step into a cryotherapy booth for 3-5 minutes. The method is used to relieve muscle pain, sprains and swelling after soft tissue damage or surgery. \u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>It has to be noted, though, that in spite of its popularity, there’s no convincing evidence about its proven long-term advantages yet. The \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.health.harvard.edu\u002Fblog\u002Fcan-cryotherapy-stop-your-pain-cold-or-is-just-a-lot-of-hot-air-2018041813612\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">escalating claims of benefit and rising demand led the\u003C\u002Fa> \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fda.gov\u002FForConsumers\u002FConsumerUpdates\u002Fucm508739.htm\">FDA to warn consumers\u003C\u002Fa> recently that, “If you decide to try whole-body cryotherapy, know that the FDA has not cleared or approved any of these devices for medical treatment of any specific medical conditions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Nevertheless, cryotherapy, cryosleep, and cryogenics are here to stay. Perhaps the popularity of cryotherapy will fade as “the next big thing” comes, maybe we will never know whether cryopreservation works, but cryosleep will definitely develop further – as the most promising technology for interstellar travels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ctable style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #eee; border-top: 4px solid #444;\" cellpadding=\"10px\">\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd style=\"width: 100%;\">\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>At The Medical Futurist, we are building a community for making a bold vision about the future of healthcare reality today.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FFIbMejImnxs\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\">\u003C\u002Fiframe>\n\u003Cp>If you’d like to support this mission, we invite you to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.patreon.com\u002Fthemedicalfuturist\">join The Medical Futurist Patreon Community\u003C\u002Fa>. A community of empowered patients, future-oriented healthcare professionals, concerned health policymakers, sensible health tech developers, and enthusiastic medical students. If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Every contribution, however big or small, powers our research and sustains our future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.patreon.com\u002Fthemedicalfuturist\">\u003Cstrong style=\"background-color: #e71d3299; color: #000;\">Click here to support The Medical Futurist from as little as $3\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fa> – it only takes a minute. Thank you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\n\u003C\u002Ftbody>\n\u003C\u002Ftable>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n",{"rendered":158,"protected":20},"\u003Cp>Cryosleep and cryonics are getting more and more attention. Here’s everything you need to know about cryosleep & cryogenic sleep chambers\u003C\u002Fp>\n","standard",{"_acf_changed":20,"footnotes":26},[162,163,164,165],511,506,515,801,[167,168,169,170,171,172,173,174,175,176,177,178,179,180,181],577,198,635,246,742,289,302,924,383,387,412,994,1088,1089,1090,[183,184],950,951,[],[187,188,189,31,33,190,191,192,193,194,30,28,34,29,195,196,197,198,199],1761,1583,1763,1723,1769,1747,1771,1749,1779,1755,1883,1757,1759,[201,101,202,38,203,39,40,204,205,206,207,208,209,210,211,212,213,214,215,216,217,218,219,220,221,222,223,224],"post-22092","type-post","format-standard","category-bioethics","category-cyborgization","category-science-fiction","category-space-medicine","tag-space-travel","tag-death","tag-cryonics","tag-future","tag-nasa","tag-innovation","tag-mars","tag-longevity","tag-science-fiction","tag-scifi","tag-space","tag-life","tag-cryosleep","tag-cryotherapy","tag-cryogenics","project_category-medical-professionals","project_category-patients",{"id":24,"alt_text":42,"caption":26,"description":42,"media_type":43,"media_details":226,"post":84,"source_url":85},{"width":45,"height":46,"file":47,"sizes":227,"image_meta":237},{"medium":228,"large":229,"thumbnail":230,"medium_large":231,"large_old_512x288":232,"thumbnail_old_150x150":233,"medium_old_370x208":234,"medium_large_old_768x432":235,"large_old_512x288_old_512x288":236},{"file":50,"width":51,"height":52,"mime-type":53,"source_url":54},{"file":56,"width":57,"height":58,"mime-type":53,"source_url":59},{"file":61,"width":62,"height":62,"mime-type":53,"source_url":63},{"file":56,"width":57,"height":58,"mime-type":53,"source_url":59},{"file":66,"width":67,"height":68,"mime-type":53,"source_url":69},{"file":61,"width":71,"height":71,"mime-type":53,"source_url":63},{"file":50,"width":73,"height":74,"mime-type":53,"source_url":54},{"file":56,"width":76,"height":77,"mime-type":53,"source_url":59},{"file":66,"width":79,"height":80,"mime-type":53,"source_url":69},{"aperture":82,"credit":26,"camera":26,"caption":26,"created_timestamp":82,"copyright":26,"focal_length":82,"iso":82,"shutter_speed":82,"title":26,"orientation":82,"keywords":238},[],{"related_posts":20,"related_posts_footer":240,"cta_type":244,"cta_color":26,"subtitle":26,"related_books":245,"key_takeaways":249},[241,242,243],11902,24598,55791,"subscribe",[246,247,248],24764,37033,31417,[250,252,254],{"title":251},"\u003Cp>If we could make it work, it would really be a game-changer — from saving terminally ill patients, to solving one of the main problems of interstellar travels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n",{"title":253},"\u003Cp>Recent advances in medicine have not proven yet that such complex systems as the human circulatory system or the brain can be “stored”, even with the help of anti-freeze material without causing damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n",{"title":255},"\u003Cp>Nevertheless, more than 500 individuals and a few dozen pets had themselves cryonically preserved, and another four thousands are on the waiting lists for cryonic preservation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n",{"yoast_wpseo_title":257,"yoast_wpseo_metadesc":95,"yoast_wpseo_canonical":153},"Cryosleep - An Overview of Cryonics, Cryosleep and Cryotherapy",{"self":259,"collection":264,"about":267,"author":270,"replies":272,"version-history":275,"predecessor-version":279,"wp:featuredmedia":283,"wp:attachment":285,"wp:term":288,"curies":303},[260],{"href":261,"targetHints":262},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F22092",{"allow":263},[119],[265],{"href":266},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts",[268],{"href":269},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftypes\u002Fpost",[271],{"embeddable":128,"href":129},[273],{"embeddable":128,"href":274},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcomments?post=22092",[276],{"count":277,"href":278},31,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F22092\u002Frevisions",[280],{"id":281,"href":282},56131,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F22092\u002Frevisions\u002F56131",[284],{"embeddable":128,"href":135},[286],{"href":287},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia?parent=22092",[289,292,295,298,301],{"taxonomy":290,"embeddable":128,"href":291},"category","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcategories?post=22092",{"taxonomy":293,"embeddable":128,"href":294},"post_tag","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftags?post=22092",{"taxonomy":296,"embeddable":128,"href":297},"project_category","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fproject_category?post=22092",{"taxonomy":299,"embeddable":128,"href":300},"contact_email_category","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcontact_email_category?post=22092",{"taxonomy":141,"embeddable":128,"href":302},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fyst_prominent_words?post=22092",[304],{"name":145,"href":146,"templated":128},[306],{"id":109,"date":307,"date_gmt":308,"guid":309,"modified":311,"modified_gmt":312,"slug":313,"status":13,"type":101,"link":314,"title":315,"content":317,"excerpt":319,"author":23,"featured_media":321,"comment_status":25,"ping_status":25,"sticky":128,"template":26,"format":159,"meta":322,"categories":323,"tags":325,"project_category":332,"contact_email_category":333,"yst_prominent_words":334,"class_list":344,"better_featured_image":353,"acf":379,"yoast_meta":393,"_links":396},"2024-05-23T15:54:29","2024-05-23T13:54:29",{"rendered":310},"http:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002F?p=13916","2024-05-23T16:07:34","2024-05-23T14:07:34","healthcare-in-2060","https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fhealthcare-in-2060",{"rendered":316},"Looking Back At Today’s Healthcare In 2060",{"rendered":318,"protected":20},"\n\u003Cp>I receive many questions after my talks and on my online channels about the not-yet-visible future. People want to know what healthcare will be like in the next decades. But throwing around predictions will not help us design better healthcare. However, showing a utopian future for healthcare might do so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003C!--more-->\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">On a chilly October afternoon in 2060,\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>after having watched the leaves falling off the trees in our garden for too long to get bored, my beautiful and overtly curious grandchild, Nina, came to me and started asking me questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-style-default\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F06\u002FTeaching-Kids-Health-Literacy-768x432.png\" alt=\"digital health literacy\" class=\"wp-image-24112\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F06\u002FTeaching-Kids-Health-Literacy-768x432.png 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F06\u002FTeaching-Kids-Health-Literacy-370x208.png 370w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F06\u002FTeaching-Kids-Health-Literacy-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F06\u002FTeaching-Kids-Health-Literacy-2048x1152.png 2048w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F06\u002FTeaching-Kids-Health-Literacy.png 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>She pointed at one of the many sensors in the living room – small, simply designed cubes measuring air quality, temperature, humidity, noise, light, air pressure, that optimize our home environment based on our personal information. Nina asked whether I had ever lived in a house without sensor cubes. When I said yes, she looked at me with wide, marveling eyes and asked me to tell her how I had lived when I was young. She liked to ask about the past. I told her about the unbearable heat in third-floor apartments during hot summer nights without proper air-conditioning and the inconvenience it caused when you could not set the right amount of light for working.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Nina was satisfied with my responses, but I had the impression she still had something on her mind. I asked her about it. She told me that she heard a word from her fellow first-graders and she did not know what that was, but one of her friends, Lyanna, told her it was from the age when people did not use smart cubes at home, so she wanted to ask me and make sure I can answer the question. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>So, I asked her, what that mysterious word was, and she said, hospital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>I laughed out loud. Hospital. I have a grandchild who does not know what a hospital is. Isn’t she the sweetest (and for that matter the luckiest) girl in the universe?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And isn’t it amazing that she doesn’t know what a hospital is?\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>So, I told this charming little lady to come over and listen to her old, wrinkle-faced grandpa who will tell her the story of hospitals, doctors, nurses, pills – and pretty much how healthcare used to look like in the 2020s, in the barbaric, pre-technological era of medicine. Here is what I said: \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“More than 40 years ago, patients had to go to huge and unfriendly buildings called hospitals to receive any kind of care and to measure vital signs or health parameters, for example how hearts and brains work. So when people fell sick, they had to go to that specific building instead of just getting care at home or wherever. And there, at the doctor’s office, you could not just go and see the physician. Sometimes you had to wait in line for hours while other people got checked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2022\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_eliminating-waiting-times-hospital-768x432.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47078\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2022\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_eliminating-waiting-times-hospital-768x432.png 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2022\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_eliminating-waiting-times-hospital-370x208.png 370w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2022\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_eliminating-waiting-times-hospital.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Do you remember, Nina, how mommy called up the doctor, she appeared on the screen and mommy showed her your ear when you said it hurt? And she also told her whether you had a fever, and what the device put into your ear for checking it properly, showed? And everything happened in your room, and also your friend, Gregor, the little salamander could be there? I wish it was so easy back in the day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And by the way, back then, all doctors were actually humans\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>I know that sounds very funny now, but back in those days, all doctors, and nurses I talked about were actually humans. There were no health robots, like Docco, in homes, no Dr. A.I. at your service 24\u002F7. When you needed a blood test, you had to go to a specific building, where a specific human took a lot of your blood with syringes. No, not just a few drops how Docco does it. A full vial!   \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Mommy told you that this method of how you speak with a doctor through the screen is called telemedicine, right? You know, back in the day it was just a shiny new thing which not many believed in. People had to travel from their homes to a different place to receive care. And as doctors were not as widely available as nowadays, sometimes people had to travel a lot. Sometimes by real ambulance cars with real drivers – no driverless cars and no drones delivering medical equipment were available.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">No robo surgeons, either\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>And there were no \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mayoclinic.org\u002Ftests-procedures\u002Frobotic-surgery\u002Fabout\u002Fpac-20394974\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">robo-surgeons\u003C\u002Fa> either, those were all real people, with no help from artificial intelligence or robots. I know it sounds scary, but they managed somehow. People obviously did not live that long, but even then they could cure a lot of diseases. Considering how these human doctors had to remember everything themselves, without the A.I. analysing all the patient data real-time, they actually did quite well.  \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>You know, Nina, nowadays computers can send each other every health data that you have within a blink of an eye. In the 2020s not every device could communicate with each other, so sometimes physicians did not know about the patients and they had to ask for all the data and information that the other doctors and nurses already had. Again and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And records on paper! \u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Moreover, they had to write down all the information, they used keyboards to type down information, not even looking at the patient or talking to them. And I think you are not going to believe this but some medical records were on paper. Yes, people wrote by hand on paper, like you draw those butterflies with the lilac pencil, and those were not even stored or analyzed later on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2023\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_383-768x432.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-52083\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2023\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_383-768x432.png 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2023\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_383-370x208.png 370w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2023\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_383-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2023\u002F08\u002Ftmf_article_383.png 1820w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nina, look at grandpa’s \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fwiki\u002Fdigital-tattoo\u002F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">digital tattoo\u003C\u002Fa> on his arm!\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Can you imagine that instead of this tiny and shiny metal lamina, doctors used as huge and expensive equipment as this living room? Measuring the electrical activity of your heart (ECG) or measuring blood pressure took time and effort – even for physicians. Medical devices were huge and scary like computers a century ago and patients had to travel to the machines to have very complex examinations, such as the so-called CT scan, by which various photos are taken from the otherwise not visible parts of your body or the MRI which examines parts of the body with the help of a magnetic field. There was also the problem called radiation, which means that invisible but harmful energy waves reached the body of the patients.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Printing organs was just an idea for the future\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>And back then doctors could not even print an organ if you needed one. A malfunctioning heart or kidney was considered a life-threatening condition, and new organs could only come from other human beings. So, please don’t get scared, but people had to use the hearts and livers and lungs and kidneys of others who just died. And as these organs were not specifically printed for you, sometimes they did not even work properly. The scientists had been thinking about printing tissues but had a hard time figuring out \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwyss.harvard.edu\u002Ftechnology\u002F3d-bioprinting\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">how to do it\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And some people could even go blind. Forever\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Do you remember when Mr. Simmith had all that trouble with his eyes last year? And he had to have his neurons checked, and the lab has grown him a bionic chip with his neurons populating it, and he had it implanted. And now his eyes are working as well as before, and he can read everything easily. This was not like that when I was young. Some people could actually have so much trouble with their vision that they went completely blind. Oh, that means that they don’t see anything at all. Nothing. It was because in the 2020s, they could not just easily connect the biochips with your neurons. Some scientists have been \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.mayoclinic.org\u002Fdiseases-conditions\u002Fdry-macular-degeneration\u002Fmultimedia\u002Fbionic-eye-video\u002Fvid-20133293\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dreaming about it\u003C\u002Fa>, but nobody could do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">No supercomputers analysing all the data in seconds\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>You know, Nina that you can ask things from your little tablet, and it will eventually find you an answer? Right, I told you already that there is a technology called artificial intelligence through which devices learn a lot about you – like you do about the letters in first grade – and they eventually will give you the solution to problems that might arise. It takes just seconds to find those answers. Now, can you imagine that doctors back in the day had to do searches in huge databases (like \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Fpubmed\" target=\"_blank\">Pubmed\u003C\u002Fa>) to find the information somewhere in hidden studies? They had to mine the database themselves and artificial intelligence could not help them? That it would last days or even weeks to read through the irrelevant data to find the right answer?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And the same pill for everyone, without it being personalised to your genome\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Also, do you remember that the other day mommy and I went to the pharmacy with you and you observed how the 3D printer machine \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fphys.org\u002Fnews\u002F2024-05-easy-pill-swallow-3d-paves.html\" target=\"_blank\">printed the pills prescribed by your doctor\u003C\u002Fa>? Now, listen. In the 2020s, medicine was produced by pharma companies who had made the same drugs for decades and made the same dosage for millions. Everyone received the same pills – there was no personalized medicine. So, you and Gregor would have got the same, even if you had some kind of allergy and Gregor wouldn’t. Back then \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sciencedirect.com\u002Fscience\u002Farticle\u002Fpii\u002FS0378517324003740?via%3Dihub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">researchers believed in 3D-printed drugs\u003C\u002Fa>, but most everyday folks have never heard of them. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What Kind of Medications Can 3D Printers Create? - The Medical Futurist\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002Fg0jkNl7Dj3Q?start=3&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003C\u002Fiframe>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>I think I also told you some stories about the tiniest bits of our body, the DNA and how with the technique of genome sequencing as they call it, you can get to know more about hidden weaknesses in your organism and use that “secret” data in healing you. Right, Nina? But there was no chance of knowing so much medical information about the person in the 2020s, thus grandpa could have received a drug in a dosage that would have led to serious side effects if he were too sensitive to the particular treatment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New drugs were tested on animals and humans\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>I remember how the invention and innovation of new treatments and healthcare methods took forever and the authorization of regulatory agencies even more – some patients literally died while waiting for a new cure. Back in the day, clinical trials were long and unbelievably expensive. Moreover, drugs were tested on patients – not on algorithms and physiological models, but on real people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And hospitals were run by humans, not supercomputers\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>You not only had to stay in hospitals but infections were commonly acquired while being hospitalized. As there was no algorithm to supervise the process of care, people made mistakes repeatedly. In the 2020s, medical errors were the third most common cause of death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Hospitals were run by managers, not supercomputers. Every decision was subjective and not backed by huge amounts of data. Also, physicians worked in an unquantifiable way. Actually, nobody knew whether they were successful or not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>I recall that epidemiology studies were slow and it took a lot of time to deal with a new infection and develop vaccines in case of epidemics. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cancer was considered dramatic\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Cancer was considered a dramatic life event and not a chronic disease for decades. There was no effective cure or treatment for a long-long time. And even if there were some personalised treatments, people had to pay for them, and only rich people could get them. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Health insurance companies mostly lacked any kind of quantified data. They only knew the age and gender of their insured patients and that’s how they made business decisions. And one of the most important factors: patients were not equal partners of physicians, as they prescribed treatments without asking them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Nina? Are you listening?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>How come she always falls asleep when I talk about the past? I think these stories are better for her than fairy tales. As I was looking at her face with her eyes shut, breathing smoothly in and out, I thought maybe it is for the best that she fell asleep, I have some information about the 2020s which I could not share with this sweet child anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Well, that’s how I imagine\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>it will be when my future self talks to my grandchild about healthcare and medicine in ‘the barbaric era’ of the 2020s. Okay, sometimes she won’t fall asleep but asks me to bring her some ice cream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The point is that I’m optimistic that when I will talk about healthcare in the early 21st century to my grandchildren, they will find many of my stories amusing because they are so unrealistically remote from their experiences. \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Today, patients are still not equal partners with their caregivers; innovative treatments are not affordable in many places worldwide; and prevention is not even in the top 3 priorities. People do not use cheap sensors to get to know their own health better. Physicians still have to dive into dozens of publications to stay up-to-date when there are millions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>To sum it up, all the technological progress I see as The Medical Futurist makes me say we still live in a barbaric era of healthcare and we have a lot of work to do – such as \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fthe-promise-of-crispr-gpt-specialized-chatgpts-could-transform-medicine\" target=\"_blank\">embracing disruptive technologies\u003C\u002Fa>, and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002F3-reasons-why-patient-design-must-replace-the-patient-centricity-illusion\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">empowering patients\u003C\u002Fa>, digitizing \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fthe-evolution-of-clinical-documentation-from-paper-to-ai\" target=\"_blank\">healthcare information\u003C\u002Fa> or \u003Ca rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Flifestyle-medicine-could-be-the-key-for-digital-health-adoption\" target=\"_blank\">shifting focus from treatment to prevention\u003C\u002Fa> – to fulfill at least some of the fantasies above so that the conversation with my granddaughter decades from now might have a similar tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n",{"rendered":320,"protected":20},"\u003Cp>Can you image there were times when people had to wait for other people’s death to have a new liver instead of just printing it? When drugs are not personalised to your genome, and peple could die of cancer?! \u003C\u002Fp>\n",30365,{"_acf_changed":20,"footnotes":26},[324,164],499,[326,170,327,328,329,330,331],519,275,308,313,355,425,[],[],[335,336,188,337,338,339,340,190,341,342,343],4103,4111,1631,1683,1693,1715,1979,2281,2605,[345,101,202,38,203,39,40,346,206,347,211,348,349,350,351,352],"post-13916","category-healthcare-design","tag-gc4","tag-healthcare","tag-medical-education","tag-medicine","tag-personalized-medicine","tag-technology-2",{"id":321,"alt_text":26,"caption":354,"description":355,"media_type":43,"media_details":356,"post":377,"source_url":378},"Medical drone on its way to the hospital","We collected what trends and technologies will have an impact on the future of emergency medicine.",{"width":357,"height":358,"file":359,"sizes":360,"image_meta":376},1920,1080,"2020\u002F09\u002Freverse_innovations.png",{"medium":361,"large":364,"thumbnail":367,"medium_large":370,"1536x1536":371},{"file":362,"width":73,"height":74,"mime-type":53,"source_url":363},"reverse_innovations-370x208.png","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F09\u002Freverse_innovations-370x208.png",{"file":365,"width":76,"height":77,"mime-type":53,"source_url":366},"reverse_innovations-768x432.png","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F09\u002Freverse_innovations-768x432.png",{"file":368,"width":71,"height":71,"mime-type":53,"source_url":369},"reverse_innovations-150x150.png","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F09\u002Freverse_innovations-150x150.png",{"file":365,"width":76,"height":77,"mime-type":53,"source_url":366},{"file":372,"width":373,"height":374,"mime-type":53,"source_url":375},"reverse_innovations-1536x864.png","1536","864","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F09\u002Freverse_innovations-1536x864.png",{"aperture":82,"credit":26,"camera":26,"caption":26,"created_timestamp":82,"copyright":26,"focal_length":82,"iso":82,"shutter_speed":82,"title":26,"orientation":82},null,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2020\u002F09\u002Freverse_innovations.png",{"cta_type":244,"cta_color":26,"subtitle":26,"related_books":380,"related_posts_footer":383,"related_posts":20,"key_takeaways":386},[381,382,247],24759,24762,[243,384,385],15279,13255,[387,389,391],{"title":388},"\u003Cp>To shape the future we desire, it’s worth occasionally “looking back,” considering which aspects of the present need change when viewed from an ideal future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n",{"title":390},"\u003Cp>In today’s healthcare system, we can identify numerous practices that our (great)grandchildren might perceive as incredibly barbaric.\u003C\u002Fp>\n",{"title":392},"\u003Cp>Let’s explore what might astonish a child born a few decades from now!\u003C\u002Fp>\n",{"yoast_wpseo_title":394,"yoast_wpseo_metadesc":395,"yoast_wpseo_canonical":314},"Looking Back At Today’s Healthcare In 2060 - The Medical Futurist","Can you image people had to wait for other people's death to have a new liver? And drugs were not personalised and you could die of cancer?!",{"self":397,"collection":402,"about":404,"author":406,"replies":408,"version-history":411,"predecessor-version":415,"wp:featuredmedia":419,"wp:attachment":422,"wp:term":425,"curies":436},[398],{"href":399,"targetHints":400},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F13916",{"allow":401},[119],[403],{"href":266},[405],{"href":269},[407],{"embeddable":128,"href":129},[409],{"embeddable":128,"href":410},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcomments?post=13916",[412],{"count":413,"href":414},48,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F13916\u002Frevisions",[416],{"id":417,"href":418},56239,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F13916\u002Frevisions\u002F56239",[420],{"embeddable":128,"href":421},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia\u002F30365",[423],{"href":424},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia?parent=13916",[426,428,430,432,434],{"taxonomy":290,"embeddable":128,"href":427},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcategories?post=13916",{"taxonomy":293,"embeddable":128,"href":429},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftags?post=13916",{"taxonomy":296,"embeddable":128,"href":431},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fproject_category?post=13916",{"taxonomy":299,"embeddable":128,"href":433},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcontact_email_category?post=13916",{"taxonomy":141,"embeddable":128,"href":435},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fyst_prominent_words?post=13916",[437],{"name":145,"href":146,"templated":128},[439],{"id":105,"date":440,"date_gmt":441,"guid":442,"modified":444,"modified_gmt":445,"slug":446,"status":13,"type":447,"link":448,"title":449,"content":451,"excerpt":453,"author":455,"featured_media":456,"comment_status":25,"ping_status":25,"template":26,"yst_prominent_words":457,"class_list":461,"better_featured_image":464,"acf":484,"yoast_meta":490,"_links":492},"2019-09-06T22:01:25","2019-09-06T20:01:25",{"rendered":443},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002F?post_type=book&p=24765","2023-03-12T18:12:53","2023-03-12T17:12:53","the-guide-to-the-future-of-medicine","book","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fbooks\u002Fthe-guide-to-the-future-of-medicine\u002F",{"rendered":450},"Guide to the Future of Medicine: Technology & Human Touch",{"rendered":452,"protected":20},"\n\u003Cp>The Guide to the Future of Medicine provides an eye-opening, reassuring and accessible roadmap to tomorrow’s potential. By preparing for the inevitable waves of change, you can make informed decisions about how technology will shape your personal well-being or your business environment, and stay healthy and afloat amidst the waves of change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n",{"rendered":454,"protected":20},"\u003Cp>The Guide to the Future of Medicine provides an eye-opening, reassuring and accessible roadmap to tomorrow’s potential. By preparing for the inevitable waves of change, […]\u003C\u002Fp>\n",10,49975,[458,459,460],3607,2707,4027,[462,447,463,38,39,40],"post-24765","type-book",{"id":456,"alt_text":26,"caption":26,"description":26,"media_type":43,"media_details":465,"post":105,"source_url":483},{"width":466,"height":467,"file":468,"filesize":469,"sizes":470,"image_meta":480},320,414,"2019\u002F09\u002Fguide-to-the-future-of-medicine-1.jpeg",17811,{"medium":471,"thumbnail":476},{"file":472,"width":466,"height":52,"mime-type":473,"filesize":474,"source_url":475},"guide-to-the-future-of-medicine-1-320x208.jpeg","image\u002Fjpeg",12054,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F09\u002Fguide-to-the-future-of-medicine-1-320x208.jpeg",{"file":477,"width":62,"height":62,"mime-type":473,"filesize":478,"source_url":479},"guide-to-the-future-of-medicine-1-150x150.jpeg",5386,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F09\u002Fguide-to-the-future-of-medicine-1-150x150.jpeg",{"aperture":82,"credit":26,"camera":26,"caption":26,"created_timestamp":82,"copyright":26,"focal_length":82,"iso":82,"shutter_speed":82,"title":26,"orientation":481,"keywords":482},"1",[],"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F09\u002Fguide-to-the-future-of-medicine-1.jpeg",{"leanpub_url":485,"buy_button_text":486,"preview":487},"https:\u002F\u002Famzn.to\u002F1w0O3sx","Get it on Amazon",[488],{"image":489},"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2019\u002F09\u002Fguide-to-the-future-of-medicine.jpeg",{"yoast_wpseo_title":491,"yoast_wpseo_metadesc":26,"yoast_wpseo_canonical":448},"Guide to the Future of Medicine: Technology & Human Touch - The Medical Futurist",{"self":493,"collection":498,"about":501,"author":504,"replies":507,"wp:featuredmedia":510,"wp:attachment":513,"wp:term":516,"curies":519},[494],{"href":495,"targetHints":496},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fbook\u002F24765",{"allow":497},[119],[499],{"href":500},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fbook",[502],{"href":503},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftypes\u002Fbook",[505],{"embeddable":128,"href":506},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fusers\u002F10",[508],{"embeddable":128,"href":509},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcomments?post=24765",[511],{"embeddable":128,"href":512},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia\u002F49975",[514],{"href":515},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia?parent=24765",[517],{"taxonomy":141,"embeddable":128,"href":518},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fyst_prominent_words?post=24765",[520],{"name":145,"href":146,"templated":128},1788949335484]