Army Wants New Medical Gel that Seals Off Hemorrhaging Wounds on the Battlefield
Lightning Academy, 25th Infantry Division Soldiers deployed life size training aids (Rescue Randys) out of an UH-60 Blackhawk from 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment to simulate a real world injury and then simulated a real world MEDEVAC with Dustoff 3rd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Nov. 24, 2020. (Sarah D. Sangster/U.S. Army)
7 May 2021
Army researchers are eyeing a promising new wound-care technology that could allow soldiers to seal hemorrhaging trauma wounds on parts of the body where pressure bandages can t stop bleeding.
The Army Research Laboratory, or ARL, is providing technical oversight on a new hemostatic gel, known as StatBond, that stops uncontrolled bleeding in noncompressible areas of the body such as the groin, armpit, neck and internal organs.
By J.P. LAWRENCE | STARS AND STRIPES Published: May 5, 2021 Medics can apply coagulants like QuikClot to wounds to stem blood loss long enough for a service member to get to a field hospital. But arterial wounds can be hard to treat in the field, said Robert Mantz, a chemistry branch chief with the Army Research Laboratory. Troops dying from blood loss to parts of the body where bandages or tourniquets can’t be applied has been a persistent problem during battles of the past two decades. The researchers say that StatBond, a clear, silicon-based gel, may help. “The thing that excites me about this is that we have data that shows this works on an arterial bleed, and to my knowledge, none of the other products out there can handle that,” Mantz said on the phone Tuesday.
New medical technology helps stop traumatic bleeding on the battlefield
A new medical technology stops traumatic bleeding without requiring wound compression for Soldiers on the battlefield. Hemorrhaging is a leading cause of preventable death for Soldiers in combat.
The simplicity, potential for deployability and proposed affordability of this technology under development allows Soldiers to carry a life-saving solution in their pocket.
Through a project funded by the Defense Health Agency Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, program, Hybrid Plastics, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Vanderbilt University and Ichor Sciences developed StatBond, which treats uncontrolled bleeding from noncompressible areas of the body that include the groin, trunk, armpit, neck and internal organs. Currently, there is no battlefield treatment for such bleeding because these injuries are not responsive to the compression dressings currently carried by Soldiers and medics.
A new medical technology stops traumatic bleeding without requiring wound compression for Soldiers on the battlefield. Hemorrhaging is a leading cause of preventable death for Soldiers in combat.
The simplicity, potential for deployability and proposed affordability of this technology under development allows Soldiers to carry a life-saving solution in their pocket.