Stopping Battlefield Bleeding

Researchers at Aurora Flight Sciences have developed a pouch that can be put inside a large, open wound to halt life-threatening bleeding within minutes. The pouch, called a swelling hemostat, resembles a beanbag and is made of a polymer-fiber mesh encased in spandex fabric. The polymer absorbs the blood, and as it does, it expands, putting sufficient pressure on the walls of the wound to stem the flow of blood. Preliminary tests have also shown that the pouch promotes clotting: only the water from the blood is absorbed, hence the natural clotting factors that exist in blood become concentrated.

Source: technologyreview.comAdded: 18 June 2008