Watertown's Arsenal Medical Developing Product to Save Troops Injured on the Battlefield

Watertown's Arsenal Medical received a $15.5 million federal contract to develop a product that would help stop internal bleeding suffered by soldiers in the field.

The contract is the second awarded to the company by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), according to a report in the Boson Business Journal. Arsenal Medical Inc. is headquartered in Watertown at 480 Arsenal St.

The company's technology could address one of the largest causes of battlefield deaths, according to an Arsenal Medical press release.

“Currently, there are no effective pre-hospital treatments available for intra-abdominal bleeding on the battlefield,” said Dr. David King a trauma surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital with significant combat theater experience, in the release. “Our ultimate goal is to find innovative ways to improve treatment and save lives of those who are serving their country, as well as those who experience serious injury through trauma.”

A large number of preventable battlefield deaths are caused by internal abdominal injuries and internal bleeding that cannot be stopped by external compression, according to the press release.

The military is looking for a way to stabilize the injuries during the first one to three hours until soldiers can reach a field hospital. The company is working on a foam-based product that can be used on the battlefield by a combat medic, and will control internal bleeding at least one hour.

To read the entire Boston Business Journal story, click here.