The Defense Health Agency funds an effort to develop new medical technology designed to prevent battlefield hemorrhages without the need for wound compression. The StatBond chemical product can stop blood outflows via deep wound entry and immediate suppression, the U.S. Army said Monday.
“The breakthrough nature of the device lies in the ability of the hemostatic gel to flow deeply into penetrating wounds and immediately seal against fluid loss, thereby allowing the natural blood-clotting cascade to happen against the surface of the gel,” said Joe Lichtenhan, vice president of technology at Mississippi-based Hybrid Plastics.
Hybrid Plastics worked with Ichor Sciences, University of Mississippi Medical Center and Vanderbilt University to develop StatBond under DHA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The technology uses visco-liquid hemostatic agents to block blood from escaping.
The team also considers StatBond's potential as a treatment for eye injuries, lung punctures and other cases where fluid loss is a threat. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) provided supervision for the project.
“We anticipate the technology will become available for use by physicians in 2022 and potentially carried by soldiers by 2025,” Lichtenhan noted.
