A patient from Russia whose head is transplanted will be trained in body management using virtual reality.

Italian surgeon Sergio Kanavero continues preparing for the head transplant of the Russian programmer Valery Spiridonov , who recently turned 30 years old. The specialist claims that the operation will take place within a year, not later. Now Kanavero and his colleagues are perfecting their skills in mice and monkeys. According to him, the preparation is going well, and the operation will be carried out on time.

Virtually all his life, Valery is deprived of the opportunity to move normally - he suffers from muscular atrophy. In his own words, the state of the body is deteriorating. Since he has no experience in managing his body, Kanavero decided to teach Spiridonov to manage himself in a special virtual reality system.

By the way, only last year the operation became a fact - up to this point the possibility of a head transplant from one person to another was discussed as hypothetical. The project was named HEAVEN / AHBR. Now Kanavero selects colleagues, is exploring the possibility of conducting an operation in China and some other countries, and also works out all the necessary stages of the operation. It is already known that he will be helped by a Chinese surgeon who performed complex operations with mice, deliberately damaging their spinal cord and restoring it again.
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Sergio Kanavero performed several operations on mice, and also transplanted a monkey's head. According to him, the operation was successful, although the animal had to be euthanized “for ethical reasons” a few hours later. A few months later, Kanavero published the results of his work with the dog. This time, the head was not transplanted; instead, the spine was cut. It is rightly believed that the difficulty of restoring the nerve trunk of the spine is one of the main obstacles to carrying out a full-fledged transplant.


Stages recovery dogs after surgery. (a) 10 days (b) 14 days © 17 days (d) 20 days, and (e) 24 days after surgery. (Source: C-Yoon Kim et al., 2016)

As before, Kanavero claims that he introduced polyethylene glycol to the site of spinal cord injury, which helps restore connections between thousands of neurons. True, the operation itself was criticized by other surgeons. According to them, Kanavero provided too little data about the operation. Also, experts note the absence of control groups during the experiment.

Dr. Hunt Batjer, president of the Association of Neurosurgeons of the United States, argues that the patient may face something far worse than death. “Attaching the head to another body (including the spinal cord, circulatory system, etc.) can lead to insanity of unprecedented power and quality,” Batger painted colorfully about the possible consequences of a transplant.


Last Friday, at the conference, Kanavero introduced the patient's training system in a virtual reality environment. This event was attended by professional surgeons who heard information about the progress of the project on a human head transplant. “The virtual system prepares the patient for a new world, which he will face, having received a new body. This is a world where he can walk, ”said Kanavero.

The Italian surgeon believes that Russian scientists may want to take part in the preparation of the operation: “Now scientists all over the world have everything they need to make sure that the transplantation method, which the author himself calls the“ GEMENI HEAVEN protocol, ”works. I am sure that surgeons in Russia will be interested in these materials, as in the way to enter the race with China for the implementation of all stages of the procedure. " Most likely, during the operation, the drug Perftoran , developed by scientists of the Institute of Biological Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences as a blood substitute, will be used. Perftoran, together with some other drugs, will be used to supply the brain with oxygen. Russian experts believe that perftoran can prolong the life of the organs of the body by 4-5 times, compared with the “autonomous” mode.

Installation for training in virtual reality was developed by Inventum Bioengineering Technologies from Chicago. According to the creators of the system, it will help reduce the level of shock in the "transition" to a new body. Valery approved a complex of simulations, saying that it is extremely important. According to the programmer, such a system is a key part of the entire project.



At the same conference, Canavero confirmed that he would conduct the operation as early as next year. Most likely, this will happen at the end of 2017. The location of the operation has not yet been determined. Kanavero earlier spoke about China, although now he is not opposed to an operation in the UK. “I received so many positive reviews from the UK, from surgeons, that I think it makes sense to transfer the operation there. If so, then in Britain it is already worth starting a discussion of the ethical side of the matter, especially if you are ready for the fact that this (the operation, - Ed.) Will happen here. If the UK says no, it will happen somewhere else. But in Europe, Britain is the most promising place, ”said Kanavero.

Virtual reality will be used to train Valery Spiridonov both before and after the operation.


This is the most accurate surgical knife in the world. Source: HEAVEN / GEMINI / Sergio Canavero

In addition to the new system for training patients in virtual reality, Kanavero introduced a new type of scalpel. According to him, Professor Farid Amirosz developed this “the sharpest and most accurate in the world” surgical knife. There is a professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago. The scalpel may help to separate the spinal cord from the brain with a minimal amount of damage.

Kanavero stated that experts from Konkuk University in Seoul confirmed the results of his head transplant experiments with mice. According to Koreans, polyethylene glycol contributes to the fusion of nerve fibers. This opens up the possibility of faster recovery of motor functions of the body.