Foam hemostatic internal injury

US researchers have developed a spray foam - called polyurethane polymer - that can be injected into the abdomen of a person with internal injuries to help prevent internal bleeding.

When a person is normal, handling hemostasis and transferring them to advanced treatment facilities within the first 60 minutes of trauma often makes the difference between life and death. During this "golden hour" , internal bleeding, especially in the abdomen - is life-threatening because it is difficult to prevent blood loss. The wound inside cannot be pressed like an external wound, nor can it stop bleeding with a piece of syrup or gauze that requires the doctor to approach the wound to handle them.

Polyurethane polymer foam will expand up to 30 times the original volume

A team of researchers at the Defense Research Project Agency (DARPA) hopes their new foam can help injured people survive danger until they are transferred to treatment facilities.

Polyurethane polymer foam can be injected by field doctors in the form of two fluids: polyol and isocyanate. When these two substances mix, they will burst up to 30 times the initial mass, then fill the abdominal cavity and cover the surface of the injured cells and internal organs. Finally, the foam hardens, providing resistance to blood loss in the abdomen. During the test, removing these bubbles took less than a minute after the surgery. Only a very small amount of foam remains in the abdominal cavity and the amount of foamy tissue is negligible. Human trials have not yet been conducted. However, swine trials showed that this hemostatic foam increased survival rates for liver damage after three hours from eight to 72% and reduced blood loss six times.

Polyurethane polymer foam was tested in Phase II with the hope that in the future, the US Food & Drug Administration will approve this foam.