“Turn-i-Kits” developed at the Weil Institute enhance emergency care in Ukraine
On the front lines of Ukraine, these unique tourniquets designed for civilian use will help first responders of all training levels control life-threatening bleeding.
Contact:
Kate Murphy
Marketing Communications Specialist, Weil Institute
mukately@med.umich.edu
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ANN ARBOR – Precision Trauma LLC, a partner of the University of Michigan’s Max Harry Weil Institute for Critical Care Research and Innovation, announced it has donated 780 “Turn-i-Kit” external hemorrhage control devices to support emergency care providers in Ukraine.
“Hemorrhage control at the point of injury represents the greatest need in any conflict,” said Precision Trauma CEO Ethan Miles, MD. “As a veteran-owned and operated company, we have many connections to those who are supporting medical response efforts in war-torn areas, and we have noticed a high demand for tourniquets, specifically. In Ukraine, this demand has led to an influx of counterfeit tourniquets with inferior quality as commercial entities struggle to keep up.”
In 2019, Precision Trauma partnered with the Weil Institute to develop and commercialize a series of trauma and combat casualty care innovations including the Turn-i-Kit—a re-imagining of the modern tourniquet designed to be inherently simple for untrained first responders to apply under stressful conditions. Originally developed at Weil in response to the United States government’s “Stop the Bleed” campaign, the device combines a specialized tightening mechanism with a wider band to deliver greater pressure and stop bleeding faster while reducing discomfort.
"Hemorrhage control at the point of injury represents the greatest need in any conflict."
Ethan Miles, MD
CEO, Precision Trauma LLC
Kevin Ward, MD, who is the Executive Director of the Weil Institute and a veteran himself with combat deployment experience said, “Hemorrhage is the leading cause of preventable death on the battlefield. In the case of Ukraine, major civilian population centers are becoming a part of the battle landscape. As such, effective and simple to use products like the Turn-i-Kit can add precious hours to allow both civilian and military casualties to get to definitive care.”
“The Weil Institute has been a tremendous partner in our efforts to save lives,” said Dr. Miles. “Their technical expertise in the initial development allowed us to take this unique design to end users around the world. Our collaboration resulted in a tourniquet that presents many advantages over existing devices and is well suited for prolonged casualty care as well as transportation of those with life threatening extremity hemorrhage.”
Other Weil Institute innovations licensed to Precision Trauma include GROA (Gastroesophageal Resuscitative Occlusion of the Aorta) the IPHD (Intra-Peritoneal Hemostasis Device), and external pelvic junctional and abdominal aortic occlusion tourniquets. These technologies are designed to control noncompressible hemorrhage occurring in the abdomen and pelvis.
Precision Trauma also announced it has donated an additional 50 Turn-i-Kits to a game reserve in Kenya to support training and response efforts for anti-poaching teams.
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Further Reading
“Partnership with Veterans Brings New Medical Devices to Prehospital Settings”
“Innovative Partnership Presents Team of Special Ops Veterans with a New Way to Serve”
Disclosures
Dr. Ward is an inventor of the Turn-i-Kit and has equity in Precision Trauma, LLC.
About the Weil Institute
The team at the Max Harry Weil Institute for Critical Care Research and is dedicated to pushing the leading edge of research to develop new technologies and novel therapies for the most critically ill and injured patients. Through a unique formula of innovation, integration and entrepreneurship that was first imagined by Weil, their multi-disciplinary teams of health providers, basic scientists, engineers, data scientists, commercialization coaches, donors and industry partners are taking a boundless approach to re-imagining every aspect of critical care medicine. For more information, visit www.weilinstitute.med.umich.edu.
About Precision Trauma
Precision Trauma LLC is dedicated to bringing innovative life-saving products to the point of injury. In order to save more lives and produce better outcomes, we identify gaps in pre-hospital trauma care and creatively fill those gaps with simplified critical capabilities. We do this by teaming with a major university research lab, executing internal development as well as external product acquisition. For more information, please visit www.ptrauma.com.