This Student Built A Life-Saving Device Instantly Stopping Stab Wounds
A UK senior college student has come up with a new method to stop the bleeding of violent knife stabbings by inventing a device that helps first responders seal wounds.
Per Loughborough University, a victim of a stabbing can bleed to death in just five minutes, so the priority for first responders is to control bleeding from the wound quickly. Since police are usually the first responders to arrive at a scene, the speed at which they administer bleed prevention treatment is crucial to increasing the chances of survival.
The innovative device is called REACT, which stands for “rapid emergency actuated tamponade.” It inflates a silicon balloon-like sleeve known as a tamponade, which applies enough pressure to allow for blood to clot. Once the balloon needs to be removed, it’s deflated slowly and gently, allowing the clots to remain intact.
Student Joseph Bentley came up with the device, which looks like a battery-powered hand drill. “I know several friends who have been the unfortunate victims of knife crime, thankfully none of the incidents were fatal,” he said. “I am haunted almost daily by news of someone who has lost their lives because of knife crime. It’s horrifying.”
He added, “The tamponade can be in place and stopping a hemorrhage in under a minute, saving hundreds of lives a year, and as the tamponade is suitable for large cavities like the abdomen, it is also easier and faster to remove than current methods used to stop bleeding, giving the patient the best chance in reconstructive surgery.”
Bentley’s REACT is still a prototype, but it has been filed for a U.K. patent.
Watch the video about REACT below:
