. 24/7 Space News .
MILTECH
US Army gives combat medics new type of tourniquet
By Thomas WATKINS
Washington (AFP) Sept 4, 2016


Throughout the history of modern warfare, countless wounded fighters have been saved from bleeding to death by tourniquets -- the straps or ties that wrap around a damaged limb and staunch hemorrhaging.

But what if a soldier is shot through the pelvis, or in the armpit, where a tourniquet would be of no use?

Militaries the world over have grappled with the question for decades, and the issue took on new urgency during the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now the US Army has found an answer.

The service currently is training and equipping its combat medics with a new device, called a junctional tourniquet.

It looks a bit like a belt, but comes with two inflatable bladders that can be pumped up to put pressure over a wound, even in locations where a traditional tourniquet would be ineffective.

"Exsanguination (bleeding to death) is the most common cause of potentially survivable death for wounded warfighters," said Ellen Crown, a spokeswoman for the US Army Medical Materiel Agency.

The junctional tourniquet is designed so "a person can position it in under a minute -- a crucial factor for combat medics who only have mere minutes to save a fellow warfighter's life if he or she is hemorrhaging."

The first recorded combat use of a junctional tourniquet was in Afghanistan in 2014, when US and Afghan medics saved a young Afghan National Army soldier who had been shot by insurgents.

The bullet lodged high in his upper thigh, likely severing a femoral artery, a location where a normal tourniquet would have little effect.

By inflating one of the junctional tourniquet's bladders over the wound, medics stemmed the blood loss, and he ultimately survived.

"The junctional tourniquet is a way to see how can we save more lives," said the Army's new surgeon general, Lieutenant General Nadja West.

- Improving outcomes -

Regular tourniquets had gone in and out of vogue among battlefield medics over the years, West noted.

Their use was sometimes questioned because, if badly applied, they can damage nerves or tissues on a wounded limb.

Now the US Army teaches its combat soldiers to correctly use tourniquets.

"They are usually the ones that are right beside their buddies when something happens," West said.

"If they are in the vehicle that is hit by an IED (bomb), they may or may not have a medic on that vehicle, but a survivor who can put a tourniquet on within minutes."

According to West, as many as 93 percent of US troops currently survive being wounded in combat, a record up from 84 percent in Vietnam and 80 percent in World War II.

The US military gained wide experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, where shrapnel and gunshots accounted for about three-quarters of battlefield wounds, according to a study in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.

After regular tourniquets were given to all US soldiers in 2005, the rate of deaths from hemorrhaging dropped 23.3 per year to just 3.5 per year, the study said, and Army officials hope junctional tourniquets will reduce numbers still further.

But nearly a quarter of combat deaths are still considered potentially survivable, according to the study that focused on 4,596 fatalities between 2001 and 2011. In nine cases out of 10, these avoidable deaths were due to massive blood loss.

The US military has also spent millions developing a novel solution to battlefield bleeding.

Called XStat, the technology is essentially a large syringe-like applicator filled with 92 small, tablet-shaped sponges.

The sponges are injected directly into a wound, expanding and swelling to fill the cavity after approximately 20 seconds upon contact with water from blood or bodily fluid.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
The latest in Military Technology for the 21st century at SpaceWar.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
MILTECH
Saab supplying simulators for Polish military academy
Linkoping, Sweden (UPI) Sep 2, 2016
Fully instrumented laser-based Tactical Engagement Simulation Systems are to be delivered to Poland by Saab of Sweden. Saab said the two TESS systems for the General Tadeusz Kosciuszko Military Academy of Land Forces are being supplied are an initial order under a two-year contract from the academy. "This initial order will provide the future officers with a proven, off-the-shelf ... read more


MILTECH
Space tourists eye $150mln Soyuz lunar flyby

Roscosmos to spend $7.5Mln studying issues of manned lunar missions

Lockheed Martin, NASA Ink Deal for SkyFire Infrared Lunar Discovery Satellite

As dry as the moon

MILTECH
Test for damp ground at Mars' seasonal streaks finds none

NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Mars 2020 Rover Mission

Year-long simulation of humans living on Mars ends in Hawaii

Boredom was hardest part of yearlong dome isolation

MILTECH
At Berlin tech fair, waterproof gadgets make a splash

Grandpa astronaut breaks US space record

35 years later Voyager's legacy continues at Saturn

Chinese sci-fi prepares to master the universe

MILTECH
China's newly-launched quantum communication satellite in good shape

China Sends Country's Largest Carrier Rocket to Launch Base

'Heavenly Palace': China to Launch Two Manned Space Missions This Fall

China unveils Mars probe, rover for ambitious 2020 mission

MILTECH
Space Station's orbit adjusted Wednesday

Astronauts Relaxing Before Pair of Spaceships Leave

'New port of call' installed at space station

US astronauts prepare spacewalk to install new docking port

MILTECH
India To Launch 5 Satellites In September

Sky Muster II comes to French Guiana for launch on Ariane 5

With operational acceptance complete, Western Range is ready for launch

Russia to Build New Launch Pad for Angara Rockets by 2019

MILTECH
Rocky planet found orbiting habitable zone of nearest star

A new Goldilocks for habitable planets

Venus-like Exoplanet Might Have Oxygen Atmosphere, but Not Life

Brown dwarfs reveal exoplanets' secrets

MILTECH
Northrop Grumman gets $375 million G/ATOR radar contract

London lab recreates horrors of war with 3D technology

Copernicus Sentinel-1A satellite hit by space particle

Berlin's IFA fair dons virtual reality headsets









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.