A sponge injection could save the lives of people with gunshot wounds. The new device called XSTAT 30 squirts out 92 tiny compressed cellulose sponges coated with a blood absorbing substance. These tiny sponges swell up as they soak up around a pint of blood preventing anymore blood loss.
The groundbreaking device has just been approved in the US by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use by emergency services. It was originally designed to deal with combat-related bullet and shrapnel wounds.
FDA executive William Maisel said: “When a product is developed for use in the battlefield, it is generally intended to work in a worst-case scenario where advanced care might not be immediately available. It is exciting to see this technology transition to help civilian first responders control some severe, life-threatening bleeding while on the trauma scene.”
According to the US Army Institute of Surgical Research 30-40% of civilians who die from traumatic injuries die through blood-loss. 56% of these deaths occur before the patient even reaches the hospital. The new device could prevent life-threatening blood loss from a gunshot wound victim as they are transported to hospital.