In a case of life imitating video games, a new development in the treatment of internal hemorraging involves an unusual source: foam. Polymer foam, that is. At the annual meeting for the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma 2012, results from testing a new development by DARPA were presented, detailing its potential for internal hemorraging treatment.
DARPA's Wound Statsis System Program was formed in 2010 with the aim of reducing deaths on the battlefield from internal hemorraging, a staggering 85% of which could be prevented. While many serious injuries can be compressed to reduce bleeding, severe shrapnel or explosion damage to the soft tissues like the stomach cannot. With this new injectible polymer foam (actually two liquids that, when combined in the cavity, tranform into a foam), the wound is closed and the bleeding stopped for at least an hour, providing a valuable window of time for the injured to get a medical facility, where the foam is easily removed by a surgeon. So far the technique has been tested on pigs, with minimally invasive application of the product "reduc[ing] blood loss six-fold". Maj. Gen. Bill Hix, Director of Concept Development for the Army Capability Integration Center at Training and Doctrine Command is quoted in the press release as saying:
“A capability like this is important in any operation, but would prove vital during operations in austere areas where military resources and infrastructure are at a premium.”
DARPA program manager Brian Holloway adds:
"According to the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research, internal hemorrhage is the leading cause of potentially survivable deaths on the battlefield, so the Wound Stasis effort should ultimately translate into an increased rate of survival among warfighters.
"If testing bears out, the foam technology could affect up to 50 percent of potentially survivable battlefield wounds."
The overall goal of the program is to help the Department of Defense meet their goal to ensure that seriously wounded soldiers are transported to an advanced medical facility within an hour of injury, something this polymer foam makes that much more possible. As Bill Nye would say, science rules.
