School of Medicine awarded $2.1 million DOD grant to help wounded soldiers
Helping soldiers: J. Fildes, M.D., University of Nevada School of Medicine, Uwe Rockenfeller, Ph.D., Rocky Research, Anthony B. Serfustini, M.D., G. Tom Shires, M.D., University of Nevada School of Medicine, Paul Sarkisian, Rocky Research.
In an effort to save the lives of wounded soldiers who can fall prey to hypothermia on the battlefield, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has partnered with Rocky Research, a Nevada-based firm, to develop an unique fluid heating technology. Funded by the U. S. Department of Defense, the one-year, $2.1 million grant has joined Nevada’s top trauma experts with one of the most progressive thermal engineering firms in the nation.
The availability of electrical power and other fuel sources on the battlefield is limited to camps and medical tent facilities. The reliability of power generation equipment in those facilities is often inadequate, making the jobs of medics especially difficult. Developing thermal battery technology is critical to treat injured soldiers suffering significant blood loss and requiring rapid blood replenishment.
“Blood and blood-related fluids require refrigerated storage at about 34 degrees Fahrenheit, but need to be induced into the body at or close to 98.6 degrees to avoid hypothermia,” said G. Tom Shires, M.D., professor of surgery at the School of Medicine. “The speed at which fluids and blood can be pumped into the body is often limited by the temperature conditioning capabilities of the fluid.”
This is particularly true in scenarios where electrical power is unavailable to warm blood quickly, such as in battlefields or during power outages at medical tent facilities. The School of Medicine and Rocky Research are working to develop a fluid-heating device that can operate with or without electricity and allow doctors to make faster blood infusions and transfusions.
“The uniqueness of the thermal battery technology of the device allows for mobile flow-through heating, a lifesaving tool for battleground and frontline medical unit use in war scenarios,” said Uwe Rockenfeller, chief executive officer of Rocky Research. “It further allows for use by emergency response personnel in disaster relief scenarios when no electric power is available and fluid transfusions or infusions are necessary.”
Department of Defense officials as well as members of Congress, who approved the grant funding, are looking forward to American troops utilizing the life-saving device developed by the study.
“This thermal battery technology will help deliver blood faster and more reliably to troops who are injured on the battlefield,” said U.S. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada. “I’m pleased we were able to secure this funding which will help save our soldiers lives and, in the future, I hope emergency personnel will be able to take advantage of this new technology to help save civilian lives as well. Nevada-based companies have always led the way in medical research. Once again, the University of Nevada School of Medicine and Boulder City’s own Rocky Research are paving the way.”
The High Speed Blood and Fluid Transfusion Grant team includes:
As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been meeting statewide healthcare, educational, and clinical needs since 1969. The School of Medicine encompasses 16 clinical medical education departments, including Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Internal Medicine, and Surgery, as well as ten nationally-recognized departments within basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering.
Emily Wofford, public relations manager for the School of Medicine, can be reached at
ewofford@unr.edu
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