TEDGlobal 2014
Joe Landolina: This gel can make you stop bleeding instantly
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Forget stitches -- there's a better way to close wounds. In this talk, TED Fellow Joe Landolina talks about his invention -- a medical gel that can instantly stop traumatic bleeding without the need to apply pressure. (Contains medical images.)
Joe Landolina - medical inventor
Joe Landolina is a TED Fellow and the inventor of VETI-GEL. Full bio
Joe Landolina is a TED Fellow and the inventor of VETI-GEL. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
I want you guys to imagine
that you're a soldier
that you're a soldier
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running through the battlefield.
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Now, you're shot in the leg with a bullet,
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which severs your femoral artery.
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Now, this bleed is extremely traumatic
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and can kill you in less
than three minutes.
than three minutes.
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Unfortunately, by the time that a medic
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actually gets to you,
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what the medic has on his or her belt
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can take five minutes or more,
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with the application of pressure,
to stop that type of bleed.
to stop that type of bleed.
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Now, this problem is
not only a huge problem
not only a huge problem
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for the military, but it's
also a huge problem
also a huge problem
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that's epidemic throughout
the entire medical field,
the entire medical field,
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which is how do we actually look at wounds
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and how do we stop them quickly
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in a way that can work with the body?
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So now, what I've been working
on for the last four years
on for the last four years
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is to develop smart biomaterials,
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which are actually materials that will work
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with the body, helping it to heal
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and helping it to allow the
wounds to heal normally.
wounds to heal normally.
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So now, before we do this, we
have to take a much closer look
have to take a much closer look
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at actually how does the body work.
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So now, everybody here knows
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that the body is made up of cells.
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So the cell is the most basic unit of life.
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But not many people know what else.
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But it actually turns out that your cells
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sit in this mesh of complicated fibers,
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proteins and sugars
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known as the extracellular matrix.
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So now, the ECM
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is actually this mesh that
holds the cells in place,
holds the cells in place,
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provides structure for your tissues,
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but it also gives the cells a home.
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It allows them to feel what they're doing,
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where they are, and tells them
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how to act and how to behave.
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And it actually turns out that
the extracellular matrix
the extracellular matrix
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is different from every
single part of the body.
single part of the body.
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So the ECM in my skin
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is different than the ECM in my liver,
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and the ECM in different
parts of the same organ
parts of the same organ
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actually vary, so it's very difficult
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to be able to have a product
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that will react to the
local extracellular matrix,
local extracellular matrix,
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which is exactly what we're trying to do.
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So now, for example,
think of the rainforest.
think of the rainforest.
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You have the canopy,
you have the understory,
you have the understory,
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and you have the forest floor.
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Now, all of these parts of the forest
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are made up of different plants,
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and different animals call them home.
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So just like that, the extracellular matrix
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is incredibly diverse in three dimensions.
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On top of that, the extracellular matrix
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is responsible for all wound healing,
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so if you imagine cutting the body,
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you actually have to rebuild
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this very complex ECM
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in order to get it to form again,
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and a scar, in fact, is actually
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poorly formed extracellular matrix.
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So now, behind me is an animation
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of the extracellular matrix.
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So as you see, your cells sit
in this complicated mesh
in this complicated mesh
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and as you move throughout the tissue,
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the extracellular matrix changes.
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So now every other piece
of technology on the market
of technology on the market
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can only manage a two-
dimensional approximation
dimensional approximation
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of the extracellular matrix,
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which means that it doesn't fit in
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with the tissue itself.
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So when I was a freshman at NYU,
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what I discovered was
you could actually take
you could actually take
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small pieces of plant-derived polymers
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and reassemble them onto the wound.
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So if you have a bleeding
wound like the one behind me,
wound like the one behind me,
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you can actually put
our material onto this,
our material onto this,
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and just like Lego blocks,
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it'll reassemble into the local tissue.
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So that means if you put it onto liver,
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it turns into something
that looks like liver,
that looks like liver,
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and if you put it onto skin,
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it turns into something
that looks just like skin.
that looks just like skin.
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So when you put the gel on,
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it actually reassembles
into this local tissue.
into this local tissue.
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So now, this has a whole
bunch of applications,
bunch of applications,
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but basically the idea is,
wherever you put this product,
wherever you put this product,
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you're able to reassemble
into it immediately.
into it immediately.
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Now, this is a simulated arterial bleed —
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blood warning —
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at twice human artery pressure.
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So now, this type of bleed
is incredibly traumatic,
is incredibly traumatic,
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and like I said before,
would actually take
would actually take
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five minutes or more with pressure
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to be able to stop.
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Now, in the time that it takes
me to introduce the bleed itself,
me to introduce the bleed itself,
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our material is able to stop that bleed,
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and it's because it actually
goes on and works
goes on and works
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with the body to heal,
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so it reassembles into this piece of meat,
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and then the blood actually recognizes
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that that's happening,
and produces fibrin,
and produces fibrin,
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producing a very fast clot in less than 10 seconds.
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So now this technology — Thank you.
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(Applause)
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So now this technology, by January,
will be in the hands of veterinarians,
will be in the hands of veterinarians,
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and we're working very diligently to
try to get it into the hands of doctors,
try to get it into the hands of doctors,
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hopefully within the next year.
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But really, once again, I
want you guys to imagine
want you guys to imagine
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that you are a soldier running
through a battlefield.
through a battlefield.
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Now, you get hit in the leg with a bullet,
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and instead of bleeding
out in three minutes,
out in three minutes,
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you pull a small pack
of gel out of your belt,
of gel out of your belt,
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and with the press of a button,
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you're able to stop your own bleed
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and you're on your way to recovery.
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Thank you very much.
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04:55
(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Joe Landolina - medical inventorJoe Landolina is a TED Fellow and the inventor of VETI-GEL.
Why you should listen
Joe Landolina is a TED Fellow and the inventor of a gel that can instantly stop traumatic bleeding -- without the need to apply pressure. He recently built a state of the art manufacturing facility in Brooklyn, New York to bring the product to market.
More profile about the speakerJoe Landolina | Speaker | TED.com