College student invents gel that halts bleeding

College student invents gel that halts bleeding

Joe Landolina may have invented a cure for bleeding. He claims that his creation, a substance called Veti-Gel, jump-starts the clotting and healing process so quickly that even wounds to internal organs or major arteries are able to close up instantaneously. And Joe has accomplished all this by his third year of college at NYU.

...

Veti-Gel (also sometimes called Medi-Gel) is a synthetic form of the extracellular matrix, or ECM, the substance that forms a kind of scaffolding in the body that holds cells together and also triggers the clotting process if there is an injury. In tests on rats, Landolina was able to close up a slice into the liver and a puncture of the carotid artery. (He plans to publish the results in about two months.)

Plants naturally produce a material similar to the human extracellular matrix, but Landolina improves the process by using genetically modified plants to create Veti-Gel. Other wound treatments, such as collagen, come from animals, he said. And some rival treatments require refrigeration. Veti-Gel can be kept in packets or tubes at any temperature from 33 degrees to about 90 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree to 32 degrees Celsius).

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If Veti-Gel works as well as claimed, it could rival other products designed to close wounds. The U.S. military typically uses QuikClot, gauze soaked in kaolin, a material that activates platelets to form a clot. But it requires several minutes of applying pressure. Hospitals typically use Floseal, a bovine gelatin containing human thrombin, the enzyme that produces fibrin for clotting.

Source

Sounds like a promising invention that could easily out-rival similar products being currently used as stated above. This will definitely come in handy in hospitals and emergency/combat zones, severely reducing the risk of death due to blood loss.

Can't wait for the results which are said to be published in two months. Landolina has applied for a patent and is beginning the FDA approval process. He is also planning to produce a product for military use called "Medi-Gel".

Always good news to hear about a student doing well in school and contributing to society in a positive manner. This new gel he developed will certainly be a big thing and his progress will be something really worth following.

I sure hope nothing happens to this kid.

Thought the vets already had that for animals?

My dog had to use a spray because he didn't want to be stitched up.

Talk about fast acting.

Definitely neat and cool.

It says that it is already also known as "Medi-Gel" -- so did this kid invent this substance, or did he simply find new ways for it to be used?

It's one thing to study the chemistry, molecular structure, and synthesize a brand new compound vs. finding a new use for an existing product.

I suspect the latter.

Damn, I watch to much Shark Tank

Originally posted by MystikMushroom
It says that it is already also known as "Medi-Gel" -- so did this kid invent this substance, or did he simply find new ways for it to be used?

It's one thing to study the chemistry, molecular structure, and synthesize a brand new compound vs. finding a new use for an existing product.

As far as I understand it he invented a completely new product through the use of genetically modified plants, unlike the rival products which use different means to create their products and are more expensive to produce. I also think that Veri-Gel or Medi-Gel (however you want to call it) has many more attributes than existing treatments, for instance stopping the bleeding of inner organs and the fast healing process of open wounds.

Sounds great, but any time I hear "genetically modified" anything, the first thing I think of is the many zombie movies that all started with something very similar. I think its a fine line.

Originally posted by Manhater
Thought the vets already had that for animals?

My dog had to use a spray because he didn't want to be stitched up.

Talk about fast acting.

Definitely neat and cool.

edit on 11-3-2013 by Manhater because: (no reason given)

You speak as if your dog had a choice in the matter?

But no worries. The companies that make sutures will lobby the FDA to have the gel denied approval because it infringes on their monopoly.

reply to post by Alxandro


I highly doubt anything will happen to the kid. I do question though how his invention will be handled by the FDA, and to add further suspicion, he actively mentioned wanting to work with the DoD. If that is the right way to go is questionable, as the DoD has the power to earn ownership over a patent, resulting in the product being unavailable on the public market if they so wish.

Originally posted by Clairaudience
reply to post by Alxandro

 

I highly doubt anything will happen to the kid. I do question though how his invention will be handled by the FDA, and to add further suspicion, he actively mentioned wanting to work with the DoD. If that is the right way to go is questionable, as the DoD has the power to earn ownership over a patent, resulting in the product being unavailable on the public market if they so wish.

edit on 11-3-2013 by Clairaudience because: (no reason given)

It's something that stops bleeding, not a portable fusion reactor. There are existing products on the market from different companies to cater to soldiers & hospitals. Go to any supermarket & you can buy yourself spray on plaster & blood stopping sprays for a few quid each.

The only thing that will happen to this guy if the product works anywhere near as well as advertised is that he will become extremely rich!

Actually,

Krazy Glue does the same.

Been used in many emergency situations to stop bleeding and act as a suture as well.

Peace

Yarrow works good, it stops the bleeding pretty fast and speeds up the healing process. So does Plantain that grows in the yard. I guess they used to teach the quick clotting ability of the plantain to the soldiers in boot camp during world war two as an emergency medicine. Remember this if you get a cut in the woods without any first aid stuff, but read up on these two plants because proper identification is necessary. Both are edible also but eating too much without cooking is not good, they can cause agglutination. Cooking can neutralize this.

reply to post by MystikMushroom


What I think is they're referring to Medi-gel as in the Mass Effect Series. It did exactly the same thing as they are describing. That is probably what gave him the idea. -shrugs- Don't quote me, Just sayin'

Super glue was first used as a battlefield wound sealant as well. However, superglue never really assisted the healing process, promoted platelet growth, or indeed did anything much other than plug the gap the wound left.

If all this stuff was good for, was plugging the gap, then you could just as easily use the kind of products that contractors use to fix cracks in water tanks without draining them out. But this stuff sounds amazing, and if the video is anything at all to go by, works like a dream! Heck! I wouldnt mind getting an artery nicked to see this stuff in action !

This doesn't impress me much!

Now give me an AutoDoc any day It's a walk in system that Not only diagnoses what is wrong with you but also heals and repairs it with no incisions or bleeding at all!

It's only available in Black Ops though and It will be out in the year 2188 it works wonders all you do is walk into the cubicle and press the medium sized white button with the little red cross on it all these multicolored Light beads pass around you in a swirly pattern and your done it does things like appendectomies and tumors surgery free it just examines you "sees" the tumors and or damaged organs and repairs them back to a pristine condition I've used this tech so I know what I'm talking about! in the future they will have text to speech software that writes out sentences as you Speak them all with correct grammar and Punctuation too.

So theoretically I could be on this forum and speaking into my Microphone and it types in what I'm saying automatically!

reply to post by fr33kSh0w2012


Sorry, but I have no clue what you are talking about. This is offtopic...

Btw, speech recognition software exists since the early 80s. Nothing futuristic about that.

reply to post by Clairaudience


he/she is about 50 years to late.. thats what super glue is for ^^

awesome discovery just another toy they can charge us $$$$ for heh

Hasn't styptic powder, gels, ointments been around for years?

Nowadays theres even a styptic bandaid and liquid styptic bandaid.

Originally posted by Clairaudience

Plants naturally produce a material similar to the human extracellular matrix, but Landolina improves the process by using genetically modified plants to create Veti-Gel.

This sounded AMAZING until I got to the genetically modified plant part. I would wait to see several generations of rats use this stuff and see what happens first. Even then I would like to see the papers to see what trans-gmo plants were used, which reads like that is what was used and long term effect studies. (Just like companies like Monsatan (Monsanto) offer readily... )

Originally posted by Philippines

Originally posted by Clairaudience

Plants naturally produce a material similar to the human extracellular matrix, but Landolina improves the process by using genetically modified plants to create Veti-Gel.

This sounded AMAZING until I got to the genetically modified plant part. I would wait to see several generations of rats use this stuff and see what happens first. Even then I would like to see the papers to see what trans-gmo plants were used, which reads like that is what was used and long term effect studies. (Just like companies like Monsatan (Monsanto) offer readily...

)

One must admit that genetically modified - anything has a bad reputation, especially due to corporations like Monsanto which have a highly questionable agenda. In theory, there is nothing wrong about genetically modified food or medication, in fact its quite safe and a necessity in these times. In Monsanto's case though, I absolutely agree with you, they aren't the most trustworthy and one should always question their motives.

reply to post by ~widowmaker~


Again, super-glue cannot be compared with Veri-Gel.
While super-glue only closes the wounds and consequently stops the bleeding, Veri-Gel aids the healing process and is applicable in many more scenarios. There is nothing on the market as of now that has the features that Veri-Gel offers.