Cryosphere Podcast Michael Benjamin - Intriguing Outcomes of Alcor's Meta-Analysis
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Jun 14, 2023 
Michael Benjamin, a seasoned physicist and engineer with nearly two decades in the industry, dives into the fascinating world of cryopreservation. He shares his experiences at NASA and the challenges posed by his health condition, scleroderma. The discussion focuses on his groundbreaking meta-analysis of Alcor's case history. Key topics include the innovative S-Mix score for evaluating cryopreservation, the impact of unattended deaths, and the ambitious initiatives of Biostasis Technologies to improve standards and training in the field.
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Make Nasopharyngeal Temperature Logging A Priority
- Always record robust temperature data, prioritizing nasopharyngeal probes when choices must be made.
- Design redundant logging and clear insertion protocols to avoid missing critical cooling data.
S‑Mix Measures Ischemic Exposure, Not Direct Damage
- The S‑Mix (ESMIC) quantifies ischemic exposure by combining time and temperature during stabilization phases.
- Temperature logging is the dominant input and gaps in temperature data limit S‑Mix accuracy.
Cryopreservation Quality Shows Little Long-Term Improvement
- Across Alcor cases from 1967–2020, S‑Mix trends are roughly flat with a slight worsening, which surprised many.
- Michael suspects operator/procedural variability, not just technology, largely explains the lack of improvement.