How US startup RevMedx has enhanced bullet-wound treatment behind XSTAT 30

RevMedx, a small startup based in Portland, Ore., has created an injectable sponge that is claimed to be able to stop bleeding in seconds, and has recently been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The product, dubbed XSTAT 30, is a tool similar to a syringe that injects tiny sponges into a wound to treat hemorrhaging. It is used to stop bleeding from a bullet as well as shrapnel injuries in areas of the body that are difficult to treat such as the groin and armpits.

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The sponges are believed to work up to four hours at a time, giving injured patients time to receive medical treatment. These tablet-sized cellulose sponges expand once contacted by blood, and can prevent a wound from bleeding in just 15 seconds.

Each applicator can absorb up to a pint of blood, but only three can be used on a patient. Prior to receiving FDA approval, XSTAT 30 had only been used on the battlefield in times of war.

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“When a product is developed for use in the battlefield, it is generally intended to work in a worst-case scenario where advanced care might not be immediately available,” said the FDA’s director of the Office of Device Evaluation William Maisel. “It is exciting to see this technology transition to help civilian first responders control some severe, life-threatening bleeding while on the trauma scene.”

According to the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research, 30-40 percent of civilian deaths from traumatic injury are due to hemorrhaging. And out of that 30-40 percent, 33-56 percent of those deaths occur before the patient reaches the hospital for treatment.

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