EDMONTON, Canada — A device inspired by a hair clip that clamps down on traumatic bleeding has won a prestigious award.
The iTClamp earned Dr. Dennis Filips an EMS World 2012 Top EMS Innovations Award.
The clamp aims to allow medics, soldiers and first responders to better treat massive hemorrhage.
“It wouldn’t matter if you were a medic or soldier, this idea is just simple, and anyone could self-treat or treat a buddy within seconds of the injury,” Filips said.
The iTClamp seals the edges of a wound closed to create a temporary pool of blood under pressure, which forms a stable clot that mitigates further blood loss until the wound can be surgically repaired.
It could prove useful for smaller, cleaner wounds, as well as in places where tourniquets won’t work and could stay in place for hours until surgery is possible, according to the report.
The device is currently available in Canada and the European Union. It is pending FDA clearance in the US and should be commercially available in late 2013.
Filips — who served three tours in Afghanistan as a trauma surgeon for the Canadian Navy — said the device was inspired by a simple hair clip, according to Cnet.com.