BRIARCLIFF MANOR, N.Y., 25 July 2006. Philips Research is to lead phase one of a planned four-year DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) medical technology project to reduce the number of battlefield deaths from internal bleeding.
A new medical technology to detect and stem the internal bleeding of wounded soldiers is to be developed by a consortium led by Philips Research. The ultrasound-based cuff device could be extended to prevent blood-loss related civilian deaths caused by accidents and serious injury.
"Ninety percent of all combat deaths occur before a casualty reaches a facility with definitive medical care," says Dr. Helen Routh, principal investigator and general manager of Philips Research. "We propose a cuff that will detect life-threatening internal bleeding and stop blood flow (hemostasis) with minimal damage to the surrounding tissue."
Research into the proposed technology, "Autonomous Acoustic Hemostasis," will concentrate on the development of a high-intensity-focused ultrasound (HIFU) detection technique for stemming internal bleeding by encouraging coagulation.
Cuffs are applied to the arms and legs of the wounded individual, and the device automatically detects internal bleeding and usse an ultrasound pulse to coagulate the blood at the site of the trauma. This stems further blood-loss and allows the casualty to be moved to a field hospital or emergency room.
Philips Research is collaborating with researchers at the Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, Seattle; Philips Applied Technologies, Houston, Pennsylvania and San Jose, California; and Philips Medical Systems, Bothell, Washington and Andover, Massachusetts.
