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Military medicine has received a prototype of a "smart" powder.
Scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a spray powder that can stop heavy bleeding almost instantly. The development is focused on emergency situations where a person is at risk of dying from rapid blood loss and there is almost no time for full-fledged assistance, for example, with severe injuries in the field or with wounds.
According to the team, after spraying, the compound reacts with blood and turns it into a soft "rubber" gel in less than one second. It performs two tasks simultaneously: it physically closes the damage, like a cork, and helps speed up the natural clotting process. Unlike typical field medicine, where bandages often have to be applied and pressure applied to the wound for a long time, here the emphasis is on speed and ease of use, when every second is critical.
The authors believe that the spray can be especially useful for gunshot wounds, shrapnel wounds, deep cuts, and any uncomfortable injuries where tourniquets, gauze, or conventional bandages do not work well. The absorption capacity is also emphasized separately: the powder is claimed to be able to absorb about 7 times more blood than it weighs itself, which increases the chance to quickly stabilize the situation before the arrival of doctors.
Initially, the technology is customized to meet the needs of military medicine and emergency services, but the principle of operation looks universal enough to eventually go beyond these scenarios. The spray is based on a mixture of three natural ingredients combined into a material that the team calls AGCL. The first component is alginate, obtained from seaweed, which has long been used in medicine and is known to form a gel upon contact with liquids. The second component is gellan gum, which is obtained from bacteria, it makes the gel stronger and helps it hold its shape under load. According to the developers, the resulting mass can withstand pressure up to about 40 kilopascals, which is comparable to a strong palm pressure.
The third component is chitosan, which is obtained from the shells of crustaceans and insects. It has a positive charge, which attracts red blood cells and platelets, that is, elements directly involved in blood clotting. As a result, the mixture not only seals the wound almost immediately, but also enhances the natural mechanisms of hemostasis, accelerating the formation of a clot.
At the same time, the "pharmacy" version is still far away. The developers explicitly say that the material is still at the stage of research and experimental tests, and before being used in humans, it will have to undergo clinical trials and obtain regulatory approvals. If these steps are successful, the spray can become a standard element of medical kits in the army and hospitals, and then, possibly, reach ordinary first-aid kits.
One of the project participants, KAIST scientist Kyusun Pak, explained the motivation very bluntly: in his understanding, the core of the modern system of caring for people is minimizing the loss of human life, and he began the research with a sense of mission to save at least one more soldier. He hopes that the technology will work not only in defense, but also in civilian medicine. The study is published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
Scientists from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a spray powder that can stop heavy bleeding almost instantly. The development is focused on emergency situations where a person is at risk of dying from rapid blood loss and there is almost no time for full-fledged assistance, for example, with severe injuries in the field or with wounds.
According to the team, after spraying, the compound reacts with blood and turns it into a soft "rubber" gel in less than one second. It performs two tasks simultaneously: it physically closes the damage, like a cork, and helps speed up the natural clotting process. Unlike typical field medicine, where bandages often have to be applied and pressure applied to the wound for a long time, here the emphasis is on speed and ease of use, when every second is critical.
The authors believe that the spray can be especially useful for gunshot wounds, shrapnel wounds, deep cuts, and any uncomfortable injuries where tourniquets, gauze, or conventional bandages do not work well. The absorption capacity is also emphasized separately: the powder is claimed to be able to absorb about 7 times more blood than it weighs itself, which increases the chance to quickly stabilize the situation before the arrival of doctors.
Initially, the technology is customized to meet the needs of military medicine and emergency services, but the principle of operation looks universal enough to eventually go beyond these scenarios. The spray is based on a mixture of three natural ingredients combined into a material that the team calls AGCL. The first component is alginate, obtained from seaweed, which has long been used in medicine and is known to form a gel upon contact with liquids. The second component is gellan gum, which is obtained from bacteria, it makes the gel stronger and helps it hold its shape under load. According to the developers, the resulting mass can withstand pressure up to about 40 kilopascals, which is comparable to a strong palm pressure.
The third component is chitosan, which is obtained from the shells of crustaceans and insects. It has a positive charge, which attracts red blood cells and platelets, that is, elements directly involved in blood clotting. As a result, the mixture not only seals the wound almost immediately, but also enhances the natural mechanisms of hemostasis, accelerating the formation of a clot.
At the same time, the "pharmacy" version is still far away. The developers explicitly say that the material is still at the stage of research and experimental tests, and before being used in humans, it will have to undergo clinical trials and obtain regulatory approvals. If these steps are successful, the spray can become a standard element of medical kits in the army and hospitals, and then, possibly, reach ordinary first-aid kits.
One of the project participants, KAIST scientist Kyusun Pak, explained the motivation very bluntly: in his understanding, the core of the modern system of caring for people is minimizing the loss of human life, and he began the research with a sense of mission to save at least one more soldier. He hopes that the technology will work not only in defense, but also in civilian medicine. The study is published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
