Monday, April 7, 2014

Army’s injectable bandage can stop heavy bleeding during ‘golden hour’

DefenceSystems ^ | Apr 07, 2014 | Kevin McCaney

It’s a surprisingly straightforward invention that could go a long way toward saving lives on the battlefield—a syringe-like device that essentially injects bandages into deep wounds to prevent bleeding. Developed by the Combat Casualty Care Research Program of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick, Md., the XSTAT looks like a large syringe and contains small cellulose sponges that, once injected, expand to fill a wound. Designed for use against large, deep injuries, it’s intended to be used on wounds around joints such as the shoulder or groin, where medics couldn’t apply a tourniquet, or wounds that are too deep for a dressing, according to Army researchers.XSTAT last week received Food and Drug Administration approval and will be available commercially, via manufacturer RevMedx, which worked on its development, as well as to the military to address an important need. Military medics, like those working in domestic crews, are familiar with “the golden hour,” the critical time after a traumatic injury that often determines a victim’s fate. Getting care to a victim in that first hour can be the difference between life and death, and stopping the bleeding can be the most import part of that care. Researchers at the Army Institute of Surgical Research found that, between October 2001 and June 2009, hemorrhage was the primary cause of battle-related deaths in 80 percent of the cases classified as potentially survivable.



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