[HN Gopher] Student designs device that stops blood loss from st...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       Student designs device that stops blood loss from stab wounds
        
       Author : sirteno
       Score  : 17 points
       Date   : 2021-07-05 19:41 UTC (3 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.bbc.co.uk)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.bbc.co.uk)
        
       | polishdude20 wrote:
       | Anyone got more info on this? It seems there's a balloon that is
       | inflated into the wound. It also talked about the benefit of not
       | pulling out the clot when the balloon is removed. Is it because
       | the material won't stick to blood clots?
        
         | JshWright wrote:
         | Yeah, the current technique (which, IMO, is still the way to
         | go) uses gauze, which the clot will form around. It's
         | difficult/impossible to remove that gauze without removing at
         | least some of the clot and causing some bleeding. At that point
         | though, they're already in the OR, and that bleeding is
         | generally fairly easily managed w/ the right equipment.
        
       | JshWright wrote:
       | This has some advantages over the existing technique (packing w/
       | hemostatic z-fold gauze), but some big disadvantages.
       | 
       | It's a pretty bulky device, and space is at a premium on an
       | ambulance. It also has a battery that needs to be maintained. I'm
       | not sure a bulky device that needs routine maintenance
       | (everything with a battery gets checked at least once a day in
       | every ambulance service I've ever worked with) is worth carrying
       | for very rare events. A couple packs of z-fold gauze take up as
       | much room as a few decks of playing cards and would only need to
       | get checked monthly (to see if they had expired).
       | 
       | Even in a place where stabbings are "common", this device is only
       | useful in a specific subset of stabbings where wound packing can
       | be used. If wound is in the torso/abdomen, this device isn't
       | useful (there's nothing to press against), and if it's in a limb,
       | a tourniquet is the right tool for the job.
        
         | polishdude20 wrote:
         | One possible fix is to not have a battery at all. Make it a
         | hand pump.
        
           | toomuchtodo wrote:
           | Is there not existing pressure onboard an ambulance from
           | oxygen supply? Or perhaps a compressor air line from the
           | suspension system? I do like the falling back to a hand pump
           | solution, similar to the bags used for providing artificial
           | respiration [1].
           | 
           | [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bag_valve_mask
        
       | ChrisGranger wrote:
       | I get a 404 error for this link. Here's one that's working for
       | me: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leicestershire-57692160
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2021-07-05 23:00 UTC)