The devastating shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut were a grim reminder that technology developed for combat injuries can be just as critical for non-military situations. Here are four medical devices, some under development for the military and others cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, that could have a significant impact on saving patients with traumatic injuries.
Bleeding Z-Medica initially developed its QuikClot technology to control bleeding for military use but Ron Clark, an emergency medical room physician at the Hospital of Central Connecticut’s Emergency Department, said in an e-mail that the emergency room at the hospital began using the material this year and added that other hospitals have begun using the material.
“I have used it about 10 times for head, extremity, chest and abdominal wound bleeding with very good results,” he said. “It works by using Kaolin to promote clotting and when someone is bleeding out, it works very well.”
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Internal bleeding Arsenal Medical is developing a foam that can be injected to control intra-abdominal hemorrhaging. It’s injected at the site of the injury before the injured person is transported to a hospital unit. It compresses the wound internally and conforms to the contours of the internal organs around the injury site. It’s designed to expand the “golden hour” during which trauma patients can be effectively treated by up to three hours and reduce the number of deaths from these wounds. It received a $15.5 million Phase 2 contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop the medical technology for the military.
Hemorrhage control Canadian medical device startup Innovative Trauma Care developed a clamp to control severe bleeding in as little as five seconds. It seals the skin to create a temporary clot to provide stability until the wound can be surgically repaired, according to the company’s website.
Brain injury Medical device company InfraScan’s handheld hematoma detector secured 510(k) clearance from the FDA last year. Originally used for combat troops in Afghanistan, the device uses near infrared technology to screen patients for intercranial bleeding in up to two minutes. It acquires EEG data wirelessly and can be used with an Android phone.
