A controversial neurosurgeon who wants to carry out the first human head transplant has outlined plans to conduct ‘Frankenstein’ experiments to reanimate human corpses to test his technique. vi2
Dr Sergio Canavero, director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group, and his collaborators believe they may be able to conduct the first human head transplant next year.
They have outlined plans to test whether it is possible to reconnect the spinal cord of a head to another body with tests that will stimulate the nervous system in fresh human corpses with electrical pulses.
However, the Russian man who has volunteered to have the first transplant has also revealed that his girlfriend is opposed to him having the operation.
The aim of the surgery is to first cut the spinal cord and then repair it before using electrical or magnetic stimulation to ‘reanimate’ the nerves and even movement in the corpse.
In an article for the Surgical Neurology International, Dr Canavero and his colleague in South Korea and China drew parallels to the infamous story of Frankenstein, where electricity is used to reanimate the fictional monster.
He pointed to experiments conducted in the 1800s using the corpses of criminals who had been hung as proof such tests could be successful.
Dr Canavero and his colleagues said: ‘A fresh cadaver might act as a proxy for a live subject as long as a window of opportunity is respected (a few hours).
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