Scientists: ‘Oxygen substitute’ shot can keep non-breathing patients alive

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Researchers at the Boston Children’s Hospital have developed a new microparticle that can be used to oxygenate blood cells and keep a non-breathing patient alive for up to 30 minutes, according to the scientific journal Science Transitional Medicine.

The particles, a combination of fat and oxygen, can be injected directly into a vein, giving medical professionals precious time to properly ventilate a dying patient.

Researchers first tested the injection on rabbits and found that oxygen saturation increased within seconds of the particles hitting the animals’ bloodstream, despite the rabbits’ tracheas being blocked.

Scientists also predicted that the solution could one day be standard in every hospital, ambulance and life-flight helicopter as a life-saving, “short-term oxygen substitute.”
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(H/T: Science Daily)