Hydrogel to Stop Arterial Bleeding

Chinese scientists have invented a hydrogel that can stop arterial bleeding, a most dangerous kind of bleeding to human health. The innovation has already been tested on animals.

If a major artery or an organ is damaged, doctors have to make instant decisions, or the patient will die. Currently, in such cases they clamp the artery and then use sutures to close the wound. But it takes a lot of time, and scientists have made many attempts in the past to create a «glue» that would be able to close such wounds in a few seconds. This time, they seem to have succeeded.

The substance created by them does not contain any toxic materials and is strong enough to stand up to high pressure in the bloodstream. It is made of water, gelatin and several proteins. The resulting structure is very close to human connective tissue. When exposed to UV light, the gel hardens and thickens closing the damaged artery. The whole procedure takes about 20 seconds. The innovation has already been successfully tested on pigs and rabbits proving that it is safe to the body.