A device that quickly and efficiently captures blood spilled during a patient's surgery so it can be transfused back in trauma situations has received approval to be sold in Europe and Canada.
HemoSep, engineered at Glasgow's University of Strathclyde, uses a chemical sponge and a mechanical agitator to filter the collected blood. Once the red blood cells have been separated out and collected in a blood bag, they can be returned to the patient intravenously in a process known as autotransfusion.
Unlike other autotransfusion devices such as the hefty Cell Saver, HomoSep is an extremely compact system that is adaptable to trauma situations -- Cell Savers are generally used for planned surgeries where doctors have advanced warning about blood loss.
By: Liat Clark, Edited by: Olivia Solon
Continue reading...Source: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-08/22/autotransfusion-device
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