When a patient is rapidly losing blood, it’s often difficult for even trained medical personnel to keep the person alive long enough to get treatment.
That's the issue addressed by VetiGel, a polymer that, when spread on a wound, is said to stop bleeding within 20 seconds. The gel — not yet being sold and not yet approved for use on people — is being distributed to veterinary clinics to be tested on injured animals.
As described by Matt Safford for Smithsonian.com's "Game Changer" feature, VetiGel is made of material from the cell walls of plants. The company that makes the gel says it speeds up production of fibrin, which is formed during the body's blood-clotting process.
The product stops internal as well as external bleeding, its developers say, and helps form strong clots. It can be left in place to be absorbed by the body as the wound heals.
Safford notes that little information is available about the gel except from the Web site of Suneris, the small, private company that is developing the product. According to that site, the Department of Defense is interested in seeing if the gel could be used to treat wounded soldiers. The company hopes to begin human trials in 2015.
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