A better bandage

The multidisciplinary VCURES research team is producing a high-tech bandage to treat such wounds including those with life threatening bleeding from arteries. Made of fibrous material that can absorb about 1400 times its weight in fluid, the BioHemostat expands when wetted by blood, fills the wound and stops arterial bleeding without preventing blood from reaching other parts of the limb. It also contains special medicines to encourage clotting, control pain, and prevent infection.

The BioHemostat can be inserted into the wound by a fellow soldier and can remain there as long as necessary. This is quite different from the traditional tourniquet which stops blood flow, but in a way that can endanger a limb. For the first time, it may be possible to salvage both life and limb!

back      video on BioHemostat      more examples