(Credit: RevMedx) A simple technology meant to stop major arterial bleeding has passed its first field test on the battlefield. The device, called XSTAT, was put to the test recently when a soldier with a gunshot wound to the thigh remained in critical condition after a seven-hour surgery failed to staunch the bleeding from his femoral artery. As a last resort, the forward medical team operating on the soldier decided to use the XSTAT, an oversized syringe filled with absorbent sponges that are injected directly into a wound. The treatment worked, the company says, halting the bleeding in 20 seconds, and allowing the patient to be moved to a care facility with more resources.
The XSTAT was developed by RevMedx, a medical device company based on Oregon, and was designed with this kind of situation in mind. A wide syringe is filled with sponges just a few millimeters in diameter, ...
