Merritt Island, Florida, Kennedy Space Center, Falcon 9 rocket takes off.
This rocket will send the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. The spacecraft was originally supposed to carry four astronauts, but now it only carries Susan. The rest of the load capacity is given to medical equipment and medicines.
Eight hours later, the Dragon spacecraft was captured by the Canadian robotic arm of the International Space Station and successfully completed docking with the space station.
Susan, this doctor astronaut has gone to space for the second time. The first time she stayed for six months to complete a medical experiment and successfully developed a drug to treat lung cancer.
This time, she came up not for an experiment, but for Steven's further examination.
Among all the astronauts who can fly into space at any time, she is the only one who can independently complete DSA of the entire cerebral blood vessels, which requires certain interventional treatment techniques.
Without resting for a moment, Susan fixed the equipment with the help of David Hawley.
On the space station, in a microgravity environment, if anything is to be used stably, it needs to be properly fixed, otherwise it will float unsteadily.
There are many common interfaces on the bulkhead to fix these devices. The manufacturer of the digital subtraction X-ray machine modified the machine overnight in accordance with NASA's requirements. Not only can it be successfully launched into the sky by a rocket, but it can also be fixed.
Steven also wanted to participate in these jobs, but Susan refused. Until his condition is clear, he is not suitable for any physical labor or sports.
After everything was prepared, Steven was fixed on a flat plate. The restraints on his limbs prevented him from losing control, especially his head, which had to be fixed and stable.
Susan is very accustomed to this kind of microgravity environment. If it were anyone else, even the best interventional doctors would not be able to perform their skills in this environment.
After conducting an iodine contrast agent allergy test and confirming it was negative, Susan began formal action.
Susan and David Holly put on protective lead clothing, with David Holly as an assistant. Steven took off all his clothes. Susan put on sterile gloves and began to disinfect the right groin area, from the navel up to the bottom.
to the middle of the thigh, including the perineum.
Use adhesive film sterile drape to spread the drape so that the sterile drape will not float up.
After local anesthesia, she began to puncture the femoral artery on the right side. The puncture was successful. Su Shun suppressed the spurted blood in time, otherwise the red blood droplets would fly everywhere. What is considered a simple action on earth is very strange in space.
Difficult.
Without Susan, this plan would not be possible.
The puncture is pulled out, the sheath is left inside, the guide wire goes in, and it reaches the appropriate position. The catheter enters along the guide wire, withdraws the guide wire, Susan connects the syringe, and starts pushing the contrast agent.
Even after more than ten hours of training, her movements were skillful, and no blood droplets formed in the cabin.
Iohexol is loaded into a special syringe, connected to the tail of the catheter, and injected into the artery.
The machine began to perform X-ray scanning, and the ink-like blood vessel image began to gradually diffuse, and the image was transmitted to the earth---the Houston Ground Control Center.
The members of the expert team who had been waiting for a long time immediately concentrated their attention. Each person had a computer. The graphics on the screen were lagging behind because of the uncertainty of network delay. This lag also carries uncertainty.
The computer's automatic picture capture function captures pictures one by one and then stores them for later study.
Angiography of the common carotid artery, internal and external carotid arteries, vertebral arteries, and the whole brain. Step by step, the blood vessel images of the whole brain are spread out, with various branches, thick and thin, winding and connected to each other, and the image is gradually improved.
"Susan! If you are not sure whether there is a risk of bleeding, do not heparinize!" Professor Massimo, a professor of interventional medicine at Johns Hopkins, was instructing Susan to perform whole-brain vascular DSA.
There was no such professor in the first meeting. Johannessen raised suspicion of intracranial disease, so this top interventional professor was invited. He must take the lead in continuing the intervention.
This interventionalist is extremely talented and has made countless contributions to the interventional department, such as popularizing TIPS surgery and designing many cardiac and intracranial interventional surgeries.
In 1986, Dr. Palmaz used balloon-expandable stent technology to establish a shunt on the basis of his predecessors and established the TIPS surgery in the modern sense. In 1988, Frerburg applied this technology to clinical practice for the first time.
Professor Massimo, when he was young, designed a new set of interventional instruments and operating methods, which lowered the threshold for this top technology in interventional medicine and made it popular.
Massimo is extremely creative and has repeatedly made extraordinary achievements in intervention, for which he also accumulated huge wealth.
He has invented many interventional devices and consumables. Medtronic, Abbott, Cook, and Boston Scientific have all cooperated with him. Currently, half of the new products are directly or indirectly produced by him.
In terms of neurosurgery, Johnathan is the best in the United States, but in terms of interventional surgery, he has to give in to this man.
"You have wasted 100 million U.S. dollars. If you give half of it as a bet, I will definitely dare to return to Earth like this." Steven said.
"Quiet, Steven!" Susan stopped him.
"How's the image quality? Professors, my catheter doesn't dare to go any further. I can only inject contrast agent here. Please give me guidance." Susan really didn't dare to go any further. If she were bolder, the catheter would go deeper and perform a procedure.
The more super-selected you are, the better the image quality will be.
"No need to go any further, that's enough."
Massimo's hair is white and black. He has a graceful demeanor, a handsome face, a slender figure, and a pair of charming blue eyes. He once fascinated many girls at Johns Hopkins University.
The image quality of this complex and diffuse whole-brain angiography is not very good, but it can be considered a failed angiography.
Susan tried her best. If she were on Earth, her performance would be better and she would be able to deliver a high-quality image.
Johannesson frowned. This would probably require GG Company’s artificial intelligence to read the films. It would be difficult to judge with the naked eye whether or not there is a problem and where the problem lies.
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Professor Massimo untied and took off his tie and threw it on the workbench: "Oops! A small aneurysm in the life center of the medulla oblongata, a fatal aneurysm!"
Before all the doctors could react, Professor Massimo had already made a diagnosis. Johannessen and Eugene studied the pictures one by one and asked with some suspicion: "Are you sure?"
"I am 100% sure that as long as I live, no one can surpass me in terms of imaging and intervention. Johnathan, Eugene, believe me, a medulla oblongata central aneurysm is like a time bomb that can explode at any time and kill this guy.
"My life." Massimo unbuttoned his shirt again.
"Is your air conditioner broken?" Massimo asked.
Collins shook his head, how is it possible? Isn’t the temperature just right?
"Look, here is the aneurysm!" Massimo pointed out the location of the lesion.
It was a mass of black, and details could not be distinguished, and it was looming. DSA also has a certain accuracy, and not all anomalies can be found.
But if Massimo said yes, then yes, this genius is the editor-in-chief of almost half of the most classic interventional works in the world, and more than half of the most advanced interventional technology comes from his creativity.
He is not bragging or arrogant. In terms of level of intervention, he is truly on top of the world, unsurpassed by anyone.
"You can stop, Susan, thank you for your hard work." Massimo ordered.
Johannesson finally discovered the not-so-obvious anomaly, and Massimo's judgment was correct.
The computer was connected to the medical brain of GG Company, and the image was enlarged and processed for comparison. Then the contrast gradually became obvious. Sure enough, it was a small aneurysm that passed through the nucleus of the medulla oblongata.
The pores on Johannesson's body tightened - this artery is an innominate artery, and this artery passes through the heartbeat center.
There is only one chance in a thousand that this symptom will occur, but it happened to Steven.
"Innominate small aneurysm of the medulla oblongata. This artery is a curse of the devil. It passes through the heartbeat center." Johannesson's face turned pale.
Collins' dry lips trembled a few times: "What should we do next?"
Everyone in the control center froze and looked at Massimo, now he is the best hope.
"If you return to the earth, the high-speed fall will cause the aneurysm to rupture, and you will definitely die. If you don't believe it, you can use a computer to simulate it." Massimo asked Collins to arrange for doctors to use GG's platform to model and simulate the return.
"I believe you. I want to know, what should we do?" Collins asked.
"If I were on Earth, I would be 20% sure to complete this kind of intervention. The target blood vessel would be too complicated. No one in the world has done this kind of aneurysm intervention. The catheter guidewires and spring coils currently on the market
There is no way to complete it, but I have finer and better products in my laboratory. Unfortunately, they are not certified by the FDA. If I use these devices, I will have a 20% success rate on earth. I have completed two hundred cases.
"Monkey animal experiments, damn, the air conditioner is broken." Massimo kept sweating.
Collins immediately said: "The incident must continue to escalate, and I will report to Washington now."
"He is on the space station now. Even if he takes the risk of sending me up there, without enough training, I will not be able to adapt to the microgravity environment above and complete the operation." Massimo shook his head.
"He just had an aneurysm, and you are the best interventional doctor in the United States!" Collins was a little excited.
"Don't yell at me. I can't stand your current style. Put away your authority. I'm not a member of your expert team. You invited me here. Believe it or not, I'm going back to Baltimore now. This is your NASA business.
, has nothing to do with me." Massimo shouted.
"I'm sorry, I was too impulsive, forgive me." Collins found that he was too impulsive.
Massimo nodded: "Be a gentleman and talk to me properly. I hate people speaking loudly. The incident must be escalated. He will not last for 3 days at most, which is 72 hours. The blood vessel will burst in the shortest second or the next second. The blood vessel has already
If you cross the limit, you can explode at any time."
"This is not an ordinary intracranial aneurysm. It passes through the center of life. No one in the world has done this kind of intervention. Even on the ground, I only have a 20% success rate. This is already the highest level in the world today. But
It's a pity that he is in the sky now, four hundred kilometers in the sky, and I can't do anything." Massimo put away his former confidence.
"It's still expanding. I just made precise measurements on several imaging tests, and it's still expanding." Johannessen reminded.
"But Steven isn't feeling uncomfortable?" Collins' voice was unclear in his dry throat.
"Slowing heart rate is the symptom, and the next symptom is death. Once it bursts, the heartbeat stops instantly." Massimo told Collins with an accent.
"I'll report now!" Collins looked at Massimo and Johanathan.
"Yes, report. This is not a problem you can solve. Tell your director to get over here and don't sleep in Washington.
"I will report immediately!" Collins repeated.
He immediately reported to NASA's chief medical officer: "Sir, we need to activate the highest level emergency plan. Steven's brainstem heartbeat center aneurysm will rupture and die at any time. He will not survive for up to 72 hours. He is unlucky and may die at any time."
Death."
"Susan, control Steven's blood pressure and let him rest quietly without talking." Massimo ordered.
Susan was also very nervous. She was the only doctor on the space station, so what could those limited and simple equipment do?
