New device plugs gunshot wounds in 15 seconds

StatX, a new device from RevMedX, is currently being developed with funding in part from the U.S. Army as a device to plug bullet wounds faster and better than gauze, according to Popular Science. Though the current iteration of the device is being groomed for the battlefield, the technology behind it is already being earmarked for hospital uses if it is approved by the FDA.

Veterans, scientists and engineers came together at medical startup RevMedX to work on a new way to stop bleeding from a gunshot wound sustained on the battlefield. The StatX is a polycarbonate syringe that acts as an applicator to dispense numerous small sponges into the wound.

After entering the wound, the sponges expand with enough pressure to stop the bleeding. A former Army Special Operations medic who worked on the project says that by the time a bandage is applied, the bleeding has stopped.

While the Army has requested expedited approval from the FDA, others are already looking toward the future of the product. RevMedX, along with Oregon Health & Science University, won a seed grant sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to create another version of the device for postpartum bleeding.

What do you think? Could this become a new ER and delivery room standard?