With time spent on the battlefield being an increasing reality, products to help deliver immediate prolonged care to the Warfighter are now more important than ever. A concept known well by Maj. Zachary Booms, an emergency medicine physician at the Combat Casualty Care Research Team at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command's Institute of Surgical Research.
During a 2023 Military Health System Research Symposium session on August 15, Booms shared key CRT2 findings that are working to improve the mortality and morbidity of combat casualties. Recognizing the capability gap in noncompressible intra-abdominal hemorrhage battlefield-related deaths, Booms posed a question to the audience that the CRT2 considered in its findings.
"How do we ensure Soldiers survive noncompressible abdominal hemorrhage when evacuation is not possible in the future or during serious conflicts or when there is no possibility of surgery for several hours or more?" said Booms.
One way the CRT2 is working to address traumatic injury is through a collaboration on the CounterFlow device, a University of British Colombia and Kastrup Lab product that works to deliver hemostatic drugs deep into wounds to stop the bleeding.
In addition to CounterFlow, products being researched by CRT2 include the Fast Onset Abdominal Management hemorrhage control device. FOAM, a foaming agent designed to control severe intra-abdominal bleeding, works in the abdominal cavity by expanding and exerting pressure on internal organs and tissue. By doing so, FOAM stops internal bleeding until transportation to higher lever care can be done; thereby saving a Soldier's life.
"What we found is that CounterFlow and FOAM are safe for intraperitoneal injection and hold potential for solving the capability gap of NCIAH management when immediate evacuation to surgical care is not possible," said Booms.
Looking ahead at products for prolonged care, another MHSRS session on tissue wound management led by Kimberly Pope, a portfolio manager for prolonged care at MRDC's Combat Casualty Care Research Program, discussed several CCCRP funded industry products in the pipeline to help Warfighters long term.
Some of those industry products like ones used to promote next generation point-of-injury wound therapy and telemedicine software to provide clinical reach back, are currently in practice by providers across the U.S. and internationally.
"It is really great to see that a product we invested in and developed being used in patients and being used in forward care such as places internationally which is what we have been going for all along," said Pope.
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