A New Tool That Seals Bullet Wounds in Seconds With High-Tech Sponges: Caught in a fire fight, a soldier might hope for air support rained down from a Predator Drone, a kitted out AR-15 assault rifle, and soon, a tube full of high-tech cotton balls. The last item on the list might seem out of place, but the XStat syringe, filled with scientifically advanced sponges, can plug a life-threatening bullet wound in a matter of seconds. Tourniquets are useful tools for injuries to extremities, but gushing wounds in the pelvis or shoulder require a different approach. The current standard of care is stuffing gauze into the wound. Not only is gauze not FDA cleared for this application, it’s often painful, imprecise, and ineffective, requiring field medics to repeat the agonizing process. A company called RevMedx decided to approach the problem in a different manner after being inspired by expanding foams used to patch tires and walls. Realizing that foams wouldn’t be effective, they cut up ordinary sink sponges and stuffed them into wounded pigs. Their makeshift “medical device” worked, and a $5 million development contract from the U.S. Army followed shortly thereafter. With cash in hand, the first goal was to refine the sponges. Deceptively simple, each one is made of wood fibers, coated with a coagulant derived from shrimp, and then compressed to a quarter of their original size. Once inside the body, a combination of pressure caused by their expansion and coagulant applied throughout the wound combine to staunch the blood flow. See it on Scoop.it, via Future Business Technology
Posted on: Tue, 18 Feb 2014 20:48:03 +0000
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