Defence and Security Accelerator assists innovation in saving spilled blood

The HemoSep system

Assisted by the Defence and Security Accelerator, the HemoSep system was developed at Strathclyde University and has now been licensed to Advancis Surgical, a medicine-focused part of Nottingham-based engineering and research company Brightwake, which is manufacturing the device in the UK and marketing it worldwide.

HemoSep springs from research led by biomedical engineer Prof Terry Gourlay between 2008 and 2013. The key to the system is a special blood bag that contains filters to remove harmful substances from spilled blood while letting through the oxygen-carrying red cells, infection-fighting white cells, and the platelets and proteins that make up the vital mechanisms of blood clotting. The bag also contains an absorbent pad that soaks up excess plasma that has diluted the blood, locking it into a harmless gel form for easy disposal. The reconcentrated blood is then suitable for transfusion back into the patient.

Autotransfusion has many advantages. It reduces the need for medical facilities to keep such large stocks of donated blood on hand for emergencies; it completely removes the risk of rejection of donated blood, as the patient’s own blood is used and compatibility is therefore guaranteed; it is also suitable for patients whose religious beliefs prohibit transfusion from donors. Although autotransfusion has been used for some years during open-heart surgery, it has relied on complex machinery using centrifuges and pumps that need to be operated by specialist technicians.