Foam Technology Helps Stop Battlefield Bleeding

Foam injections are being developed as a method to manage intra-abdominal hemorrhage in soldiers who have been injured during battle.

Developed by Arsenal Medical (Watertown, MA, USA) under contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA; Arlington, VA, USA), the forming polymeric foam is designed to control severe, intracavity hemorrhage by creating conformal contact and applying pressure to an actively bleeding site. The foam is created with two liquid precursors held inside a canister, which are injected via the navel into the abdomen by the force of the reaction. The foam thickens inside the body, generating pressure against the internal wound, thus stemming the bleeding. Once the patient arrives at a hospital, the "non-stick" hardened foam is effortlessly removed by surgeons within sixty seconds.


To develop the foam, Arsenal Medical analyzed over 1,200 foams, identifying 15 that met regulations for animal testing. Of these, only one was hydrophobic and with the right viscosity to make its way through pooled blood to the sight of an injury and expand correctly to envelope the internal organs at the site of injury. According to study data presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of the Surgery of Trauma, held during September 2012 in Kauai (HI, USA), the polymer foam, when used at a minimally invasive level, was shown to reduce blood loss by 85%, and improve survival rates for three hours after injury from 8% to 72%. The foam is currently in Phase II development.

“The team of engineers and scientists at Arsenal Medical is excited to be working on one of the most difficult challenges in battlefield medicine,” said James Barry, PhD, executive vice president and CEO of Arsenal Medical. “There can be no more important goal for all of us who work in healthcare than to save lives. And working to help save the lives of our soldiers is exceptionally motivating.”

Emergency surgical intervention is currently the only available method for treating abdominal hemorrhage. However, battlefield trauma generally occurs in an austere, resource-constrained environment, often with extended evacuation time due to persisting tactical threats. As a result, the majority of preventable deaths due to abdominal hemorrhage can be attributed to delays in hemorrhage control during transportation, highlighting the need for rapid, far-forward hemorrhage treatments.

Related Links:
Arsenal Medical
US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency