Watertown Company Develops Life-Saving Trauma Foam
BOSTON (CBS) – It looks like a simple caulking gun. But it’s no ordinary tool.
“The potential impact is truly revolutionary,” says Dr. David King.
Dr. King is a trauma surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. He has seen the horror of battle up close from the Boston Marathon bombings to war zones as an Army medic.
“Guys who have to be pronounced dead because they have an injury that could be fixed but they died before you could even get your hands on them… extremely frustrating.”
To give these wounded warriors a fighting chance Dr. King has teamed up with Arsenal Medical of Watertown to develop a so-called trauma foam.
“It’s really about taking someone who is going to die and giving them a couple of hours to get to a surgeon where once you get to a surgeon you have a pretty good chance of survival,” explains Dr. Upma Sharma, the director of material science at Arsenal Medical.
Once a soldier is hit with enemy fire or a road-side bomb it’s crucial to stop internal bleeding. That’s where this foam comes in.
Trauma Foam. (WBZ-TV)
This is “an intervention that can be done on the ground, in the mud, on the battlefield,” explains Dr. King.
Once injected into the body the foam quickly expands to fill the abdominal cavity. This applies life-saving pressure and can stabilize the patient. Once the patient reaches an operating room the foam can be easily peeled away.
The Arsenal Medical team gave us a ...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: bostonwebintern Tags: Health Innovation Economy Local News Seen On WBZ-TV Syndicated Local Tech Watch Listen Arsenal Medical CBSBoston Combat Wounds Dr. David King Dr. Mallika Marshall Dr. Upma Sharma Live-Saving Surgery Trauma Foam WBZ TV Source Type: news
More News: Bleeding | Economy | Grants | Health | Hospitals | Learning | Science | Sports Medicine | Universities & Medical Training