Putting the cuffs on bleeding

announced recently that it is to lead phase one of a planned four-year

(Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) medical technology project to reduce the number of battlefield deaths from internal bleeding.

A new medical technology to automatically detect and stem the internal bleeding of wounded soldiers is to be developed by a consortium led by Philips Research. The technology will take the form of an ultrasound-based cuff device. Its application could also be extended to prevent blood-loss related civilian deaths caused by accidents and serious injury.

‘Ninety percent of all combat deaths occur before a casualty reaches a facility with definitive medical care,’ said Dr. Helen Routh, Principal Investigator and General Manager of Philips Research. ‘We propose a cuff that will detect life-threatening internal bleeding and stop blood flow (hemostasis) with minimal damage to the surrounding tissue.’

Research into the proposed technology, ‘Autonomous Acoustic Hemostasis,’ will concentrate on the development of a high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) detection technique for stemming internal bleeding by encouraging coagulation. Philips said in a statement that the technology will be so simple to use that personnel with no medical training could successfully apply it.