Stop the bleeding on the battlefield

New approaches of "DARPA"

Ilya Plekhanov, InoSMI.Ru

The Office of Advanced Research Projects of the US Department of Defense (DARPA) has been engaged in medical projects in one form or another throughout almost its entire history.

In April 2014, on the 56th anniversary of the establishment of the agency, DARPA announced the appearance of a new division in its structure - the Department of Biological Technologies, under the roof of which biologists, engineers, physicists, neurologists, etc., who had previously worked separately, were gathered. In 2016, the budget of the new department was already almost 300 million dollars.

Some of DARPA's projects in the field of medicine and biology were and still are of a pronounced futuristic nature, such as synthetic biology, genetic modification of soldiers, tissue regeneration, creation of an artificial eye with animal vision characteristics, programming of microbes, changing the metabolism of the human body, DNA optimization, neurostimulation, physiological and psychological improvement of military personnel, magnetic control of cells and so on, but part of it is also more "mundane" pragmatic.

Projects of the latter kind can bear fruit in the near future and the technologies created can be applied directly during military conflicts and on the battlefield.

For example, in 2017, DARPA launched a program to passively collect information about the health and combat readiness of military personnel. The idea is that soldiers are not asked to do anything extra, and all data is collected from smartphones, gadgets and other technical devices with which a person comes into contact. This can be a pedometer built into the phone, and an analysis of the timbre of the voice during the call of a serviceman home, and an analysis of how a person types a text or number on the keyboard, how he behaves on the Internet, how he uses a touchscreen. At the same time, soldiers may not know that all their actions are being analyzed, and conclusions are made about the state of their physical and mental health on the basis of the information collected.

In January 2018, DARPA applied to The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of a device for purifying blood from pathogens resistant to the use of drugs. The device, in fact a blood filter, has passed preclinical tests and, according to the assurances of researchers, surpasses the available civilian analogues. The DARPA filter is able to prevent blood poisoning and work on a wide range of viruses, toxins, bacteria, inflammatory cytokines. In combat conditions, such a portable filter can avoid septic shock and save the lives of servicemen. Developments have been going on since at least 2013. It is implied that all the blood of a wounded person can be quickly passed through the filter.

Another DARPA program for autonomous diagnostics is aimed at the rapid development and production of RNA vaccines and the delivery of RNA molecules to the human immune system. The program is in the nature of fundamental research. Another direction is the computer prediction of pathogen mutations and the development of new vaccines based on the forecast. The third is the creation of devices and technologies that, in the field, can quickly take samples of blood and other fluids of a wounded soldier, analyze them, isolate chemical components and store samples in a suitable form for subsequent laboratory analysis.

Blood is a particularly important topic for the military, as blood loss becomes one of the main causes of death of servicemen after injury.

Back in 2010, chemicals (hemostatic agents) that promote blood clotting were tested at DARPA. It was assumed that on their basis, a material would be created that could be injected into the body to locally stop or slow down bleeding. From 2007 to 2011, almost $100 million was allocated for these studies.

Loud news from DARPA on this topic came this year. The Agency has announced its Biostasis program. We are talking about artificially causing cryptobiosis – dehydration of tissues and slowing down metabolism, which should slow down the bleeding of a wounded serviceman. The idea was suggested by nature, namely, tree frogs and slow walkers.

Tree frogs caught in the frost can "hibernate" for a long time, slowing down the metabolism, and then restore internal processes under more favorable conditions.

Tardigrades (tardigrades), "water bears", tiny invertebrates with a size of 0.1 – 1.5 mm, can survive at extreme high and low temperatures, at high pressure, radiation, in an almost airless space, do without water and food for a long time.

DARPA wants to learn how to artificially simulate the transition to a "slow state" and then return to normal without serious consequences for the work and functioning of the body. The agency wants to start experimenting first with antibodies, then with cells, tissues and organs, with individual systems of the human body and, finally, with the whole organism. The problem is the simultaneous harmonious slowing down of all processes in the body.

Tristan McClure-Begley, head of the Biostasis program, says: "At the molecular level, life is a set of continuous biochemical reactions, and the defining characteristic of these reactions is that they need a catalyst. These catalysts enter cells in the form of proteins and large molecular machines that convert chemical and kinetic energy into biological processes. Our goal is to control these molecular machines and gracefully slow down the entire system, avoiding adverse consequences when the intervention is completed."

Slowing down the bleeding will give more time for the wounded to be delivered to equipped medical aid stations, delay the onset of irreversible processes in the body, and increase the survival rate of soldiers.

The Biostasis program is designed for five years, the amount of funds allocated has not yet been specified, and its prospects will be judged by the results of work after this period. The program's motto is "Slow down life to save life."

But not always, even in theory and in the techno-future, slowing down metabolism can help if a soldier has numerous or serious injuries. Then it makes sense to resort to other more obvious ways to stop the bleeding.

At the end of last year, the military started talking about the hydrogel "MeTro" (MeTgo), which can quickly seal wounds without stitches and staples. A highly elastic gel created by Harvard Medical School scientists and researchers from University of Sydney in Australia, made on the basis of human tissues and protein. The material has already been tested on rats and pigs. After application to the wound, the gel is irradiated with ultraviolet rays for 60 seconds and freezes, while not disturbing the natural movement of the skin, without cracking or tearing along the edges of the wound, without letting air through. Unlike other products of this kind, this gel is not toxic, is not rejected by the body, organically decomposes and dissolves in the body without consequences, helps tissue regeneration, it is elastic and at the same time it is very viscous and strong. That is, it simultaneously combines a number of desired qualities. The elasticity of the gel allows it to be used on pulsating organs (heart and lungs), and the enzyme decomposing over time allows you to set the working time of the gel: from several hours to months. The gel is rather a surgical aid during operations and healing, but in combat conditions it can provide invaluable help, quickly stopping bleeding.

An even simpler method is used today in law enforcement agencies in Israel. During the terrorist attacks in 2016, during which one of the Israeli policemen was seriously stabbed in the neck, a medic who arrived in time was able to stop the severe bleeding in less than a minute with a new type of bandage. The bandage, developed in Israel, is made of vegetable cellulose, is able to absorb up to 2500% of its weight, is biologically active for 24-36 hours, dissolves in the body within a week. After contact with blood, the bandage also turns into a gel-like substance. According to the manufacturer, it turns out "a three-dimensional matrix trap for platelets ... which does not affect their mobility and activity ... and promotes blood clotting." Today, this rather expensive bandage with a price of $ 10 is sold to 32 countries, and among the buyers are the armed forces of a number of states.

According to the US Department of Defense, up to 84% of all military life losses on the battlefield could have been prevented if the bleeding had been stopped in time.

The battle for the most effective method of stopping bleeding will undoubtedly continue.

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