Device in the Works Saves Gunshot Victims

A device that could potentially save the lives of victims of deep and heavily bleeding wounds -- such as from a gunshot -- is currently in the final stages of gaining approval from United States federal regulators.

The device, called Xstat, is a unique invention that has developed a new way to dress potentially deadly wounds, synthetically clotting a hemorrhaging wound in seconds.

Xstat looks like a massive syringe chamber chock-full full of tiny white tablets. However, these tablets are not medication. They are actually small medical dressing sponges that have been coated with a haemostatic agent and compressed into tiny a size so they can enter a wound with ease. Once the sponges make contact with blood they rapidly expand, absorbing escaping blood and clotting the wound.

One of the developers of the device, John Steinbaugh, is a retired U.S. Army Special Operations medic. According to a company statement, the device is intended to dress wounds that would normally prove fatal without the consequences of using a tourniquet -- such as the loss of a limb. The device has been designed to prove the most effective with dangerous body wounds, which are traditionally packed with gauze before pressure is applied to in an effort to stanch the bleeding. According to Wounds International, a global wound treatment guideline organization, bleeding is the highest cause of battlefield deaths, beating out even gunshots or explosives -- both of which also can lead to hemorrhaging as the cause of death if initially survived.

Xstat currently comes in two sizes, in a 30 mm applicator and a thinner 12 mm applicator. Both are designed to treat deep and heavily hemorrhaging wounds that cannot be traditionally treated effectively, such as wounds resulting from a gunshot.

In preclinical testing, the Xstat proved to contribute to a significant increase in the chance of survival among victims of non-compressible bleeding. The device is now in the midst of the last stages federally regulated testing and is expected to gain approval for at-least military use within the coming year.

It has been noted that Xstat, while sterile, does not diminish the chance of infection, which is extremely high in cases of deep wounds.

You can learn more about Xstat at the RevMedX website.