The Sarco was inspired by UK man, Tony Nicklinson, who had ‘locked-in’ syndrome.
Click to view a visual history of the Sarco Timeline.
Well known for his invention of ‘The Deliverance Machine‘ (now in the British Science Museum), in 2012 Dr Philip Nitschke was asked by Tony’s legal team to develop a technological solution to help Tony lawfully end of his life.
‘Suicide Machine that could be Controlled by the Blink of an Eye Sparks Euthanasia Debate‘ – The Independent, 17 April 2018.
The idea for the Sarco was born.
Since the commencement of the Sarco Project in 2012, there have been three renditions of the Sarco capsule.
A full-size, wooden mock-up of Sarco was unveiled at the Amsterdam Funeral Fair on 14 April 2018.
The first 3D-printed Sarco was unveiled at Venice Design 2019 at the Palazzo Michiel, Venice. This short film (commissioned for Venice Design) was played in Sarco’s room at the Palazzo for the 6 months of the exhibition.
The Sarco was used by a 64-year old American woman ‘Ann’ (who was seriously ill) in Switzerland on 23 September 2024 at The Last Resort Swiss Association.
The history to Sarco is explained in an April 2018 (invited opinion) article by Dr Philip Nitschke in the Huffington Post.