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Material Made From Crustaceans Could Combat Battlefield Blood Loss

Posted by Soulskill on from the also-good-news-for-swashbucklers dept.

MTorrice writes: A foam composed of a polymer derived from crustacean shells may prevent more soldiers from falling victim to the most prolific killer on the battlefield: blood loss. Pressure is one of the best tools that medics have to fight bleeding, but they can't use it on severe wounds near organs. Here, compression could do more harm than good. First responders have no way to effectively dam blood flows from these non-compressible injuries, which account for the majority of hemorrhagic deaths. The new foam could help stop bleeding in these types of injuries. It relies on chitosan, a biopolymer that comes from processed crustacean shells. By modifying the chitosan, the developers gave the material the ability to anchor blood cells into gel-like networks, essentially forming blood clots. The researchers dispersed the modified chitosan in water to create a fluid they could spray directly onto noncompressible wounds.

76 comments

  1. Dupe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wasn't this reported upon a couple years ago?

    1. Re:Dupe? by redback · · Score: 1

      I remember seeing something like this as a coating to a wound dressing

    2. Re:Dupe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It appears to have been in use over 400 years ago.

    3. Re: Dupe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fairly sure it was.. I think they called it quickclot?

    4. Re:Dupe? by dotancohen · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I remember seeing something like this as a coating to a wound dressing

      Correct. We (Israel) used this to terrific effect in last year's operation in Gaza. It saved lives on both sides.

      --
      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
    5. Re:Dupe? by kanweg · · Score: -1, Troll

      Is it kosher then? Or does reality temporarily take precedence over mythology when someone is wounded?

      Bert

    6. Re:Dupe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We've been using this stuff for 10 years already in the military. You can buy it on Amazon.

      http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BCNTHC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    7. Re:Dupe? by dotancohen · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Is it kosher then? Or does reality temporarily take precedence over mythology when someone is wounded?

      Bert

      Nice veiled insult. Saving a human life is considered, as per our mythology, more important than any other commandment. We drive ambulances on the sabbath and use pig implants when that is needed to save a life. There is no "temporary" about that, it is our custom.

      Some religions value the afterlife more than human life. Some religions value vague interpretations of scripture more than human life. Some politicians value religion more than human life. Jews believe in human life first, all else second.

      --
      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
    8. Re:Dupe? by kanweg · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Thanks for the reply and the elucidation. I think it is a very good custom that saving a human life takes precedence.

      Yes, I had a blunt way of posing the question. I'm not really sorry about that. Being without any factual basis, religion is a personal hobby and should not affect other people's lives. These days, the news is rather filled with items that are at odds with that.

      It is rather sad that science is brought to the battle field (both for killing and surviving). If only soldiers limited themselves to taking their holy book with them and praying the enemy to death. There are no theists in foxholes, I guess.

      Bert

    9. Re:Dupe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ". We drive ambulances on the sabbath and use pig implants when that is needed to save a life. There is no "temporary" about that, it is our custom."

      So Jesus was right.

    10. Re:Dupe? by quantumghost · · Score: 2

      We've been using this stuff for 10 years already in the military. You can buy it on Amazon.

      http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BCNTHC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

      NOT the same thing, however in your defense the article does not make this distinction very clear without already knowing the definitions.. Quick clot and related technologies are for "compressible wounds" that are bleeding to the outside. If you can see the source of bleeding, you can usually compress it. TFA references "Non-compressible bleeding". These are typically truncal wounds that require an operation to fix.

      This product is more in line to what TFA is referring to: and this product already exists. I know it has been tested on animal models, and I believe is close to, or in human testing. As a side note, this was developed by a trauma surgeon, not a chemist, so I'll give the nod to David King as he has already take into account several aspects of the foam that TFA authors probably have yet to discover along with being much farther ahead in the testing.

      For those who didn't follow the links, the bleeding around organs is far from incompressible. In the OR we frequently compress organs or their blood supply to stop bleeding (liver and spleen being _very_ common), (the problem is that they are incompressible from the outside, hence the thought of using a biocompatable foam internally). The problem with internal foam (as anticipated by DK) is that while this pressure may do a good job of stopping the hemorrhage, it may cause too much pressure resulting in abdominal compartment syndrome. There are literally dozen of issues like this that are related to the foam and the consequences of its use, just stopping the bleeding is not enough, you have to deliver a viable patient to definitive care.

    11. Re:Dupe? by dotancohen · · Score: 1

      Jesus was definitely right about a lot of things. So were Muhammed and Budda and Pythagoras.

      --
      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
    12. Re:Dupe? by dotancohen · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Thanks, Bert. I agree with you on all accounts.

      I've been on both ends of the assault rifle, and my children have been through one rocket damaging our home and dozens more landing nearby. The more we "advance" technology the more we enable any particular human to hurt more and more people around them. I long for the day when we forget how to forge rifles and pack blackpowder. Let the warriors (and I say this as a reserve soldier) fight with their fists. There is no way for either side to "leave the civilians out of it" when we are fighting with weapons with a ranges measured in kilometers. If you can't look the other side in the eye, don't pull the trigger / don't throw the punch / don't push the button.

      And don't be afraid to call someone a false cleric if they are using holy texts / mythology / out-of-context quotes in order to convince you to hurt somebody.

      --
      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
    13. Re:Dupe? by kanweg · · Score: 1

      Hope you, yours and everyone else remains safe.

      Bert

    14. Re:Dupe? by turkeydance · · Score: 0

      and Kofax STILL wouldn't pitch? oh, the humanity.

    15. Re:Dupe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck that. We need more war, not less.

    16. Re:Dupe? by pnutjam · · Score: 1

      Civilian casualties are more about policy and human nature, then technology. Civilians always bear the brunt of fighting, read some history. When things turn to violence, both sides lose. One side eventually loses less, usually, and we call it winning.

      --
      Cheap storage VM.
    17. Re:Dupe? by iMactheKnife · · Score: 1

      Great comment. Thanks.

  2. Wrong goal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    I thought the whole purpose of engaging in battle is wasting lives?

    1. Re:Wrong goal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I thought the whole purpose of engaging in battle is wasting lives?

      You thought correctly but incompletly: the whole purpose of engaging in battle is wasting ENEMY lives!

    2. Re:Wrong goal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The enemy's enemy is you. Go waste yourself.

    3. Re:Wrong goal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The enemy's enemy is you. Go waste yourself.

      The enemy's enemy's enemy is the enemy... go waste him!

    4. Re:Wrong goal by gweihir · · Score: 0

      The whole purpose of battle is that one side thinks its lives are worth more....

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    5. Re:Wrong goal by dreamchaser · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Actually the main purpose is to wound as many enemies as you can. Each wounded soldier takes 2-3 support people to care for them. The purpose of engaging in battle is to gain the specific objective (hill, town, city) as described by the mission objectives. A lot of killing takes place, yes, but it's actually the wounded that count the most from a tactical standpoint.

  3. I think it's already been used by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My friend who used to work as an army medic told me about it several years ago, as they have deployed the kit in the frontline

    1. Re:I think it's already been used by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      Usually when a post contains "my friend" it's likely to be an AC's post. Again, qED.

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    2. Re:I think it's already been used by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Not the same AC, but I also remembered this from years ago (2007).

    3. Re:I think it's already been used by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, what do you expect, name and social security number?
      If the poster is identifiable then so is the friend, unless the poster has hundreds of friends in the military.
      As far as we know the medic could be under an NDA and weren't really allowed to tell the poster about it, in that case it is very understandable that the posting is done anonymously.

    4. Re:I think it's already been used by technosaurus · · Score: 1

      They had it in a powdered form as far back as '05

    5. Re:I think it's already been used by DedTV · · Score: 2

      The U.S. has had hemostatic dressings since at least World War II. Soldiers carried a mix of sulfanilamide, aluminum sulfate and titanium dioxide, the use of which is still taught at the US Army Combat Medic school and the USAF Pararescue School. Although in practice, the military now uses modern Combat Gauzes like Quik Clot, Celox Gauze and ChitoGauze on the battlefield.

  4. What's the point ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Why spend so much money trying to save soldier's lives, when their very job and purpose is killing other soldiers ?

    At this rate they'll send armies of undeads to the battleground.

    1. Re:What's the point ? by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      Why spend so much money trying to save soldier's lives, when their very job and purpose is killing other soldiers ?

      Their job is not to be killed and kill as much as possible of the enemy. As it's been seen from the last wars, fighting against a diminished army makes it easier to win the war.

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    2. Re:What's the point ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But surely, since it's verey much public news, the enemy will make their own crustacean medkits.

      If nobody gets an advantage, the whole point is moot, since they'll keep fighting anways.
      If they weren't trying to hard to research this kind of military applications, it'd still be discovered eventually, it'd still be public, it'd still be moot, but we'd save money.

    3. Re:What's the point ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Grow up. Seriously. You're either 6, being intentionally stupid, or severely delayed in your maturation.

  5. cancer-oids? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We Greeks call "crustaceans" cancer-oids (was that their former official zoologic taxonomic name?), and think they are delicious - now we can use their shells to save soldiers?
    One of my great and famous ancient Greek ancestor (i don't remember his name, we have so many of them!) loved them so much that once eat so many of them making him so sick that his doctor told him he most probably will die in few hours - my ancestor, since he accepted that his death was inevitable, asked for some more!

  6. Bama is perpetually aroused by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Bama is erect and rigid from thinking about all those gullible saps who BLEED FOR THE GLORY OF BAMA.

  7. QuikClot and Celox by turkeydance · · Score: 3, Interesting

    already do this...with the same ingredients. just don't be allergic to shellfish.

    1. Re:QuikClot and Celox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      And the Republicans won't let the military use either. They hate the guys that actually work for a living and want them to die.

    2. Re:QuikClot and Celox by DamonHD · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Is there a significant antigen left in this foam?

      I know people can be allergic to almost anything, but this looks to me like only relatively simple innocuous compounds remain in the foam.

      The point being on the battlefield, what proportion of people would be killed by this from anaphylaxis (say) rather than saved by it?

      Rgds

      Damon

      --
      http://m.earth.org.uk/
    3. Re:QuikClot and Celox by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 1

      If it's between a slight possibility of an allergic reaction or a high likelihood of bleeding to death, the choice is simple. The prevalence of shellfish allergy seems to be under 2% anyway. In that light, it might be good to keep this stuff in public buildings next to the AED (if the shelf life isn't too short). More people die from blood loss after a bad cut than you might think, because it takes time for paramedics to arrive and few people know how to properly stanch a wound.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    4. Re:QuikClot and Celox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obviously, don't deploy anyone allergic to shellfish...

    5. Re:QuikClot and Celox by Gryle · · Score: 2

      US Army personnel with allergies to a particular medication are required to wear a red medical ID tag along with their normal set of ID tags. If this technology becomes common place, I expect those with crustacean allergies will be required to wear a red tag same as those with pencilin allergies.

      --
      Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not entirely sure about the universe - Einstein
    6. Re:QuikClot and Celox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The prevalence of shellfish allergy seems to be under 2% anyway.

      Any idea about the prevalence of mushroom allgergies? Chitosan can be made from some fungal species as well, it just doesn't seem to be done on the same industrial scale (probably because shellfish shells are waste, mushrooms generally aren't).

    7. Re:QuikClot and Celox by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 3, Insightful

      If this technology becomes common place, I expect those with crustacean allergies will be required to wear a red tag same as those with pencilin allergies.

      It might even become practice to use it anyway and follow up with a treatment for the anaphylaxis, if the bleeding is severe enough. People can survive shellfish reactions with management - severe internal bleeding, not so much.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    8. Re:QuikClot and Celox by Talderas · · Score: 1

      QuikClot is a powder that activates the appropriate agents in your body to jumpstart the clotting process. It is not perfect and it doesn't work well with heavy bleeding or anyone who is on blood thinners. Additionally, since it is directly used to create the clot you can't remove the shit without removing the clot... which will restart the bleeding. However that last point isn't that critical as you should only be removing the clot when in an appropriate medical environment to treat the wound.

      This form would be a lot more robust. It will work with people on blood thinners and it will work with heavy bleeding.

      --
      "Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
  8. News fot nerds...from the 90's? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    lol. Wow. This is *OLD* news. The military has been using this technology for over 20 years now.

    1. Re:News fot nerds...from the 90's? by Dragon+Bait · · Score: 2

      lol. Wow. This is *OLD* news. The military has been using this technology for over 20 years now.

      And you can even buy it from Amazon.com

  9. Another tool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Peace would be much more efficient.

    1. Re:Another tool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But, without war, how will Bama earn his Peace Prize?

    2. Re:Another tool by Dragon+Bait · · Score: 4, Informative

      Peace would be much more efficient.

      I agree. How do you suggest we create peace with ISIL/ISIS?

      Perhaps we should not have created ISIS in the first place. Blame Obama.

      Or perhaps since the local area had already mostly found an equilibrium, we should not have toppled that evil-bastard Saddam Hussein. Yes, he was evil. Yes, I would not want him for my president. But he was reasonably well contained and provided a counter balance to the other powers in the region. Blame Bush II.

      We can walk our way back in time and blame [nearly?] every U.S. president regardless of party back to the fall of the Ottoman Empire. We can then start blaming the Europeans for carving up the Mid-East in such a way that it was a breeding ground for future wars.

      But peace? Do you have any concrete mechanisms that would actually improve the situation?

  10. ITT: pretentious anons who didn't read the article by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yes, shellfish based bandages have been around for the last decade, yes. No, this isnt the same as that. This is a spray, not a bandage. No pressure necessary, just spray the wound like windex and you're good. This is a major advance and you lot are "lol omg seen this 10 years ago lolslashdot",

  11. like Predator's medkit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    awesome

  12. Re:ITT: pretentious anons who didn't read the arti by redback · · Score: 1

    same substance, new delivery method.

    i bet you could kill someone with an injection of this stuff.

  13. Paging Dr. Zoidberg... by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

    Hooray! I'm helping!

    --
    Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
  14. Re:ITT: pretentious anons who didn't read the arti by itzly · · Score: 1

    I bet you could kill someone with an injection of this stuff.

    Same is true for many things.

  15. Re:ITT: pretentious anons who didn't read the arti by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

    Read the article? I get the feeling sometimes that people here don't even bother to read the summary.

    And sometimes, not even the title.

    --
    Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
  16. Let's test it out by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Go shoot some Gitmo detainees and see how it does.

  17. Wrong Strategy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    " No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country." Gen. George S. Patton

  18. Not just the army... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We use it in the (UK) civilian ambulance service!

  19. Re:ITT: pretentious anons who didn't read the arti by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And sometimes, not even the title.

    You insensitive clod! In Soviet Russia, our new overlords welcome you!

    Wait... you combine them all like that, it actually kinda makes sense...

  20. Another material that helps stop bleeding by humptheElephant · · Score: 1

    Here is another material that has been used to stop bleeding. Its been around for a longer time.
    "Bleed-X Vet Hemostatic Powder originates from over a decade of research and clinical use in the human market. Since 2001, Medaforâ(TM)s patented Microporous Polysaccharide Hemosphere (MPH) technology has been saving lives in both humans and animals- clinically proven to be a superior method to control surgical and topical hemorrhage in over 2 million human applications.

    Bleed-X Vet is indicated in surgical, dental and topical procedures as an adjunctive hemostatic device to assist when control of capillary, venous and arteriolar bleeding by pressure, ligature and other conventional means are ineffective or impractical. Bleed-X is made from two well-known hemostatic components: MPH combined with Oxidized Cellulos (OC)micro-fibers which together act to rapidly dehydrate blood and concentrate clotting proteins, red blood cells, and platelets to promote rapid gel formation which accelerates the natural clotting cascade with no inherent risk of adverse events."

    http://www.dvmsolutions.com/bl...

    1. Re:Another material that helps stop bleeding by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      I've been using a nanotech solution whereby nanobots congregate and join together at the wound site in response to a protein cue given off by damaged blood vessel. Since the nano-bots are small and vaugely plate-shaped I've been thinking of calling them plale-lettes.

    2. Re:Another material that helps stop bleeding by dotancohen · · Score: 1

      Best comment on the thread yet.

      --
      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
  21. Re:ITT: pretentious anons who didn't read the arti by NormalVisual · · Score: 1

    For sure. Air is ordinarily very benign and quite necessary to sustain human life, but not so much when it's injected into a vein.

    --
    Please stand clear of the doors, por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas
  22. How about stop killing each other? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Stop being dicks. Problem solved.

    1. Re:How about stop killing each other? by frovingslosh · · Score: 1

      No wonder you're hiding behind the AC label, that sounds very anti-Zionist to me.

      --
      I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
  23. Re:ITT: pretentious anons who didn't read the arti by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

    This is a major advance and you lot are "lol omg seen this 10 years ago lolslashdot",

    It makes sense if you accept the premise that their purpose for being here is to feel smug and superior, not to get it right.

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  24. stopping the shooting... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    would do even more to stop the bleeding... /justsayin

  25. What happened to Topistat? by frovingslosh · · Score: 1

    Back in the 1970's a friend who had been a medic told me about a spray clotting agent that was then saving lives called Topostat or Topistat. He found somewhere to buy it commercially and a few of up pitched in and got some spray cans. I never use it for more than patching up a scraped knee, but it seemed to be great stuff. Scrape you knee, spray on this stuff, and you had an instant scab to stop further bleeding.

    I've never seen it again since, and even a search of the Internet seems to be completely ignorant of it. Apparently a Trademark was given for the name in 2004, but as that was about 30 years from when I saw the product that I had I'm thinking it is likely a different product. Anyone have any information on this product from the 70's?

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
  26. PETA says by iggymanz · · Score: 1

    crustaceans are sea-gerbils!

  27. Old news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've had some of this stuff in my first aid kit at work for several years now. In both loose granules and coated dressings. How is this news exactly?

  28. Chitosan has been around for awhile by roc97007 · · Score: 1

    I believe this was reported in Slashdot years ago. Chitosan based bandages are available on Amazon. I carry one in the first aid kit on the motorcycle. Is this Retread Sunday?

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    1. Re:Chitosan has been around for awhile by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope it's reading comprehension fail Sunday.

      This isn't a bandage which works with compression. It's a liquid/foam spray, no compression required.

  29. Even better solution to battlefield deaths by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just stop having battlefields and armed people trying to kill one another, and you'll see a %100 drop in battlefield deaths due to armed conflict. Its that simple.

  30. battlefield blood loss by kwoff · · Score: 1

    Let's beat drums with our obliterated lobster limbs. Is this a Verhoeven parody of "news" or what?

  31. Craaaab people by PPalmgren · · Score: 1

    This gives crab people a whole new meaning!