How A Simple New Invention Seals A Gunshot Wound In 15 Seconds
An Oregon startup has developed a pocket-size device that uses tiny sponges to stop bleeding fast.
By Rose Pastore Posted 02.03.2014 at 2:30 pm
I don't know if this would be practical in a small med kit, but it would certainly be a viable choice in a larger trauma bag. I wonder if they will ever be commercially available.The team settled on a sponge made from wood pulp and coated with chitosan, a blood-clotting, antimicrobial substance that comes from shrimp shells. To ensure that no sponges would be left inside the body accidentally, they added X-shaped markers that make each sponge visible on an x-ray image.
The sponges work fast: In just 15 seconds, they expand to fill the entire wound cavity, creating enough pressure to stop heavy bleeding. And because the sponges cling to moist surfaces, they aren’t pushed back out of the body by gushing blood. “By the time you even put a bandage over the wound, the bleeding has already stopped,” Steinbaugh says.
