ResQ Foam will prevent many deaths in the future

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been searching for an answer to the challenge posed by major abdominal bleeding on a battlefield. The answer may be here and in the form of foam.

ResQ Foam is a product which would be injected into an abdomen which has sustained trauma. It expands and fills the space, putting pressure on the wound and keeping the patient from bleeding out.

Fox News reports, the project is expected to save countless lives:

Bleeding to death is the leading cause of fatalities on the battlefield, according to the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research. So the US military has long been searching for a solution that would let combat medics stabilize patients for transport to field hospitals. The foam has enormous potential for civilians as well. EMTs responding to a gunshot wound to the abdomen, for example, could immediately apply the foam to help buy time to get the victim to surgical care.

The foam can reach deeper inside the abdomen than a medic could by just applying pressure. The products currently used to stop bleeding on the battlefield are applied outside the wound and cannot stop all the bleeding as quickly or efficiently.

This is an example of how large just a little of the foam can grow:

ResQ Foam is expected to start clinical trials next year.