New Foam Made From Shrimp Cells Can Stop 90% of Blood Loss

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A first-of-it’s-kind foam made from shrimp cells has been developed that can be applied directly to an open wound and immediately stop rapid blood loss by up to 90%. This incredible new material could be a crucial step forward in preventing death in military combat zones and even with street and gang violence.

According to RT.com [1]:

Injuries and violence account for nearly 1 out of every 10 deaths worldwide each year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [2]. As many as 5.8 million people of all ages and social backgrounds die from violence-related injuries every year, the health protection agency says.

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For some limb injuries, doctors can apply pressure to effectively halt the bleeding. The problem is that when dealing with certain injuries – trauma to the torso in particular – compression is not an option.

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Meanwhile, “hemorrhage (severe blood loss) from traumatic injury is a leading cause of death for soldiers in combat and for young civilians,” Matthew Dowling and colleagues at the University of Maryland wrote in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, adding that the majority of hemorrhages that prove fatal are “non-compressible.”

The researchers added: “Currently, there is no effective way to treat such injuries.” [3]

A solution has been found, however. “In this initial study, we demonstrate that a sprayable polymer-based foam can be effective at treating bleeding from soft tissue without the need for compression.”

The active material in the foam is a modified chitosan (a biopolymer derived from the shells of shrimp and other crustaceans), which “physically connects blood cells into clusters via hydrophobic interactions.”

When the unique foam is sprayed into an open cavity created by injury, it expands and forms a self-supporting barrier that counteracts the expulsion of blood from the cavity, the researchers say.

They have already tested their sprayed foam for its ability to arrest bleeding from an injury to the liver in pigs. The bleeding was stopped “within minutes” and without the need for external compression, the researchers reported. Blood loss was cut by 90 percent.

Sources:

[1] http://rt.com/news/270907-foam-shrimp-blood-injuries/