Soldiers and citizens alike will have a better chance of surviving massive blood loss in the future, with both military and civilian research into new methods for dealing with trauma. Defensetech found a Darpa plan called ‘Surviving Blood Loss (SBL)’ intended to ultimately develop methods and techniques to help the wounded survive a 60-percent loss of blood for up to three hours.
Part of the SBL program may include inorganic blood substitutes like the one being developed at the University of Buffalo. Called DDFPe, the fluorocarbon-based liquid expands from a ‘milky emulsion’ to microbubbles that can pass through the body’s capillaries, carrying oxygen to the tissues. The National Institute of Health sees enough promise in the substance to have granted the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences 1.5 million dollars to continue research.
Of course, as Defensetech’s Noah Shachtman points out, the need for better in-the-field trauma care wouldn’t be necessary if the human body weren’t so frustratingly fragile. There’s a reason the government wants to start using robots to wage wars, and its not just because they take orders with less guff.
