Remote euthanasia system

Humane euthanization of sheep under high pressure via remote activation of a lead screw system

Project Overview

Due to a new contract with the Navy, Dr. Aleksey Sobakin and Dr. Marlowe Eldridge are testing the Navy’s standard operation to rescue sailors in a disabled submarine at the bottom of the ocean. In order to examine their standard operation, our clients will be using sheep and a hyperbaric chamber. This hyperbaric chamber will be putting the sheep through a variety of pressures that can lead to various health risks like pulmonary barotrauma or decompression sickness. In fact, decompression sickness has the capacity to result in neurological injury or even death. In order to avoid these traumatic health complications, IACUC has asked our clients to institute a method to euthanize the sheep humanely prior to a rapid drop-out decompression if necessary. As the sheep are sealed away in a chamber, the client has asked our team to devise a method to remotely euthanize the sheep when they are inside the hyperbaric chamber. This euthanasia system will have three main subsystems. For the housing subsystem, There must be a way to secure the syringe within the device and to prevent it from moving or being accidentally discharged. For the injection subsystem, there must be a way to pump the euthanasia solution out of the syringe and into the vein in a timely, complete manner. Finally, there must be a remote control subsystem that enables the device to perform the injection protocol upon a button press by a researcher outside of the hyperbaric chamber.