A single intravenous injection of a lipid-based gas-filled solution brought 15 minutes worth of life-saving oxygen to rabbits with completely blocked airways.
PROBLEM: Patients who can't breathe need oxygen quickly to avoid cardiac arrest and brain injury. Unfortunately, attempts in the early 1900s to intravenously supply this essential gas failed to oxygenate the blood and often caused dangerous air bubbles. Current treatments, such as blood substitutes, breathing masks, and tubes, aren't always effective as well since they still rely on the lungs to function or require time to properly administer. . . .