Scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a new spray that can instantly stop severe bleeding. This spray could prove revolutionary for emergency medical treatment, where patients are at risk of bleeding out, like on the battlefield, El.kz reports citing Interesting Engineering.
According to the team, the new spray reacts with blood to turn it into a soft, rubbery gel in less than a second. This not only physically seals the wound but also helps accelerate the natural clotting process.
Compared to traditional field medicine that uses bandages, this new spray is fast and doesn’t require pressure on the wound. Critically, it is also fast, and time is of the essence when it comes to handling traumatic wounds.
The spray is an ideal solution to wounds like gunshots, shrapnel injuries, deep or awkward cuts, and situations where tourniquets or gauze don’t work well. The powder is also able to absorb around 7 times its weight in blood.
According to KAIST, the spray consists primarily of a powder with three main natural ingredients combined into something called AGCL. The first of these is alginate (derived from seaweed), which forms a gel when exposed to liquids (such as blood).
This is commonly used in medical dressings today. The second is something called gellan gum, which is derived from bacteria.
The third and final is chitosan, which is created from the shells of crustaceans and insects. This is positively charged, allowing it to attract things like red blood cells and platelets.
This component helps to speed up the clotting process. When combined, these agents seal a wound almost instantly while turbo-boosting the body’s natural healing processes.
Needs clinical trials and approval
This next-generation hemostatic agent is still very much in the research and development stage, but testing shows it is very promising. Before it can be trialled in the real world, it still needs to undergo clinical trials and needs regulatory approval.
If all goes well, the spray could not only become a mainstay of medical kits on the battlefield and hospitals, but also eventually could become part of a common or garden first aid kit.
“The core of modern welfare is minimizing the loss of human life,” said a KAIST scientist who took part in the spray’s development. “I started the research with a sense of mission to save even one more soldier. I hope this technology will be used as a life-saving technology in both national defense and private medical fields,” he added.