The U.S. military asked the medical technology company RevMedx to create a device that can plug up gunshot and shrapnel wounds.
The original inspiration for the device is based off "Fix-a-Flat," which is squirted into puncture holes in tires, CNN reported.
"One of the co-founders of the company, Dr. Ken Gregory, was shopping at a Williams-Sonoma and discovered this kitchen sponge that was dried and compressed. You'd bring it home, splash water under it, and it would pop up into a normal-sized kitchen sponge," Andrew Barofsky, RevMedx's CEO told CNN.
"That was kind of a light bulb moment," he said.
The researchers came up with XStat, which injects "sponge-like discs" into the bleeding wound. The sponges are soaked in an anti-hemorrhaging solution.
Today's protocol for dealing with these types of wounds include applying pressure and plugging them with gauze or tampons; but this can take too long, allowing the individual to bleed out. Bleeding out is one of the primary causes of fatalities for soldiers on the battlefield.
"Three to five minutes can mean the difference between life and death," he says.
Military medics wanted a device that "you fire and forget," John Steinbaugh, a former Special Forces medic and the company's director of strategic development, told CNN.. "You put it in and the bleeding instantly stops."
The manufacturers believe the Xstat device will be able to be distributed to the military sometime this year. The life-saving devices could also be used by police officers and paramedics; the researchers hope that Xstat will save scores of lives in the future.
"Every drop of blood on the battlefield is precious. The faster you can stop the bleeding, the higher the probability you can save a guy's life," Steinbaugh told CNN.
WATCH:
