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This is an awesome tool to use if it’s going to save lives.  Often time it’s the innocent who has been struck down by a bullet meant for someone else.  Gun violence has taking more likes than natural causes and that’s a real problem.   Kudos to the organization that created this life-saving tool.  As awesome as this tool is, unfortunately it does bring us back to the reality that many of us face in our communities, that gun violence and so much loss of life has increased the need to create tools and unfortunately as well as eventually capitalize off of it.  Hmmm…wonder what the price tag is on something like this??

Read more as reported by the Chicago SunTimes:

 

A syringe filled with tablet-sized sponges used to clog up gunshot wounds where tourniquets cannot be used has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use by first responders among the general population.

The Xstat Rapid Hemostasis System, originally designed for military use and approved for use on the battlefield last year, looks to address the challenge of stopping bleeding in areas like the groin or armpit, using the tiny sponges to dress wounds and stop hemorrhaging in as little as 15-20 seconds.

“When a product is developed for use in the battlefield, it is generally intended to work in a worst-case scenario where advanced care might not be immediately available,” William Maisel, M.D., M.P.H., acting director of the Office of Device Evaluation in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a press release. “It is exciting to see this technology transition to help civilian first responders control some severe, life-threatening bleeding while on the trauma scene.”

Stopping bleeding in gaping gunshot wounds is a top priority for first responders but can also be a huge challenge. According to the United States Army Institute of Surgical Research, 30 to 40 percent of civilian deaths by traumatic injury are the result of hemorrhaging. Thirty-three to 56 percent of those deaths occur before the patient ever makes it to the hospital.

The Xstat Rapid Hemostasis System works by injecting 92 compressed, cellulose sponges with an absorbent coating directly into a wound, creating a dressing that can absorb up to a pint of blood and can last for up to four hours. Up to three syringes can be administered for a single patient.

According to Gizmodo, the sponges all contain radioplaque markers that can be spotted under an X-ray, making their extraction during surgery easier.

The new product, manufactured by RevMedX, Inc., will certainly get its fair share of use. The Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence estimates that 100,000 people are shot every year in the U.S, which comes out to about 289 per day.

Source: Chicago SunTimes