Controlling Pre-hospital Junctional Hemorrhage in Trauma Patients

Prehospital blood loss to injured soldiers with junctional hemorrhage (JH) en route to hospital care is a major cause of death. The reason is adequate control of JH is not currently available. To address this need, we are designing, developing, and testing a device that controls high-pressure junctional hemorrhage in cavity-shaped wounds in combat scenarios. To improve upon the current standard, our device aims to reduce the quantity of blood lost during the first hour of a high-pressure hemorrhage (60-80 mmHg) to less than 50 percent of the total blood volume, or around 2.5 L. Once activated by a soldier via a twisting mechanism, our device combines a polyol and a diisocyanate in a mixing chamber, allowing the chemicals to react and form rapidly expanding polyurethane foam that fills the wound and applies pressure to the walls of the cavity. The foam is able to adapt to complex wounds, or irregular wound tracts where the origin of the hemorrhage is unidentifiable, allowing for more effective targeting and treatment of the bleed. Our device is the size of a foam marker, facilitating easy portability. Additionally, it can withstand military conditions as it consists of a durable HDPE canister and chemicals that are stable at temperatures up to 100 ºF for up to 2 years. Application to the civilian population is being considered.