Video: College student invents instant blood-clotting gel
The student hopes the gel can be used in the military
By Camille Bautista
Mashable
In alternate realities like Mass Effect's video game galaxy or Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, all-purpose medicinal salves serve as a rapid cure-all for any ailment or injury.
Joe Landolina, a student at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, is one step closer to bringing this medical cure to market. Landolina created Veti-Gel, a substance that closes up wounds to major arteries or organs to immediately stop bleeding.
The product uses genetically modified plants and can be stored at temperatures from 33 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Check out the video, above, to see how it works.
It's a synthetic form of the extracellular matrix, or ECM, a part of body tissue that holds cells together and activates the clotting process. When a part of the body is injured, Veti-Gel binds to the ECM to form a cover that mimics skin and eliminates the need to apply pressure to the wound, reports TechNewsDaily.
While there are other products designed to quickly heal wounds, such as QuikClot, a clotting gauze used by the military, they require several minutes of pressure.
Veti-Gel can be used for both external and internal bleeding as well as severe burns, plus, it works in an instant. Landolina is looking to test out the substance in the veterinary field and ultimately get FDA approval.
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Tiffany Calkins Leiter Monday, March 18, 2013 6:23:05 PM This is pretty cool! Delta's Nursing Program 2013. 
Karl Ashcroft Monday, March 18, 2013 6:34:17 PM Not that is something I would like us to have and be able to use! 
Jessica Carnes Monday, March 18, 2013 6:35:17 PM Trauma pt say WHAT? 
Lynn Magnuson Tuesday, March 19, 2013 7:17:50 PM Trauma patient will be very glad VetGel is around! Trauma patient might bleed to death otherwise ....
Shaun Camp Monday, March 18, 2013 7:07:50 PM Looks very promising....love to see the trials and then out to the field for explosive entry trauma. :) 
Jamie O'Connell Monday, March 18, 2013 7:52:22 PM Very awesome. I am excited to see more follow up as this progresses. 
Rene Westerveld Tuesday, March 19, 2013 10:01:33 AM Amazing - wonder if we will get it in South Africa? 
Rich Salty Tuesday, March 19, 2013 12:25:27 PM It's called Crazy Glue lol. Lynn Magnuson Tuesday, March 19, 2013 7:16:57 PM I think it's a bit more complex than that. Crazy clue has a chemical component that bonds to skin. This gel mimicks a cellular membrane, stopping bleeding. This guy is going to save a BUNCH of lives!
Lynn Magnuson Tuesday, March 19, 2013 7:15:04 PM I'm an EMT Student and this could REALLY be a benefit in that field... such as those devastating internal injuries that cause people to bleed to death on the way to the hospital. Another place I think of it being useful is on the battlefield, by medics. I hope that student gets a Nobel prize in Medicine for this one. If he doesn't... I'm writing to the Nobel people and suggest it. VERY significant invention but I think it's going to take some time before human beings get the benefit, due to medical profession and FDA rules about new substances and procedures. Good job! 
Chuck Clayton Thursday, March 21, 2013 8:20:55 PM This would definatly be a great benifit to those who experience uncontrolable bleeding both in wars and on the streets. QuickClot was really good, but if this works like I saw, it will save a lot of lives, in Afghanistan and on the streets! Hope it is as good as it looks. Also hope if it is approved that it is aurthorized for use by EMTs and not just Paramedics on up. I an an EMT in NC. 
