A Childhood Dream Come True?

Injectable oxygen means you don't have to breathe

Breathing oxygen-enriched liquid is an old idea, but it's got a few flaws. One of those flaws being the removal of carbon dioxide from the bloodstream. A simpler problem is how to breathe it without gagging.Wouldn’t it be far easier if you just didn’t need to breathe at all?

Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital ... created microparticles that can be injected into your bloodsteam and oxygenate it. Even if you can’t/aren’t breathing. And it can keep people alive for 15 to 30 minutes. Think about that. At worst, it’s 2/3 an episode of Seinfeld. At best, you could start a second.

I'd rather waste the time watching an old episode of Flipper.

The particles are pockets of oxygen in a layer of lipids, specifically fats. This is then suspended in liquid, which can be injected into the blood steam. The oxygen then “squeeze[s] through capillaries,” according to Dr. John Kheir of Boston Children’s Hospital.

Ok, I get how that oxygenates, but what I don't see is how it solves the CO2 problem, as long as the body is processing the oxygen, carbon dioxide is building up in your blood and lungs.  It causes the overwhelming urge to breath, and at some point not very far along it builds up to the point of causing acidosis in the blood.

Photo swiped from Theo's

I'm also curious how long it takes the blood to clear the now oxygen depleted lipids that are left behind in the blood, and what volume of them needs to be added in the first place.

The implications of this are enormous. It could mean doctors have another 15 to 30 minutes to work on patients who have lost the ability to breathe, an amount of time that could potentially save lives.

The real question, though, is does this mean we can now breathe underwater?

So, probably the answer is probably no, it won't be available anytime soon as a diving aid.  However, I hope it becomes available for medicine ASAP, and maybe it will evolve into something more.