17 year old teenager develops miracle product VetiGel, which can stop bleeding within secondsWhat happens during clotting of blood:
Joe Landolina, a TED Fellow, now 22 year old invented an algae based polymer, VetiGel when he was just 17 years old and this miracle gel when applied to the wound can stop bleeding within seconds. VetiGel is manufactured by a bio-tech firm “Suneris”, which has been co-founded by Landolina, who is also CEO of this firm. As per an announcement made last week, Suneris would be shipping VetiGel to the Veterinary physicians around summer this year. Once the product gets sufficient consent from the authorities the gel can also be made available for the use of humans. Landolina explained the working of this miracle gel. He says that as soon as the gel is injected into the site of a wound, within a matter of 12 seconds the gel helps in the clot formation thus the wound gets healed permanently within a matter of few minutes. While speaking to Business Insider, Landolina said: “The fastest piece of equipment we have measures every 12 seconds. So we know that it happens in less than 12 seconds.” Landolina then also mentioned that an individual batch of gel would begin as an algae, each made up of minuscule polymers. The individual polymers can be further broken down into tinier pieces which would resemble like the LEGO blocks. These tiny blocks can be put together in the form of a gel which is later injected into the site of wound. Once the gel comes in contact with the damaged tissue it forms a mesh-like structure instantaneously. The damaged tissue could be in the form of an open skin or even some biopsied portion of major organs such as liver, kidneys or spleens. Landolina says: “What that means, on the one hand, is that the gel will make a very strong adhesive that holds the wound together. But on the other hand, that mesh acts as a scaffold to help the body produce fibrin at the wound’s surface.”
What happens during clotting of blood:
Fibrinogen is a soluble protein which is present in blood plasma which by the action of enzyme thrombin produces Fibrin, which is an insoluble protein. Fibrin is responsible for the production of fibrous mesh which blocks the flow of blood, this process is termed as blood clotting. So basically Fibrin is an essential ingredient in blood clotting and for tissue repair processes. Fibrin plays an important role in sealing the blood leaks thus it helps VetiGel not only to stop the flow of blood but also to heal the damaged tissue. Hence, within a matter of few minutes of its application the skin heals allowing the gel to be removed safely. While he was still in high school and just 17 years old, an early version of the gel was invented by Landolina from his grandfather’s lab. Besides, VetiGel there is one more product known as Vitagel which has the similar properties to stop bleeding instantly which uses more or less similar methods like VetiGel. Landolina took only four and a half years to shape the prototype of his miracle gel into business. Isaac Miller is Landolina’s project partner as well as co-founder and CFO of Suneris. On Monday, Suneris has made VetiGel available to the (four-legged) masses. Veterinarian offices can now pre-oreder VetiGel and Suneris announced that it’s Brooklyn office will ship the products later this year, around summer. Landolina’s VetiGel has now started taking shape. As per Landolina, Suneris envisages on a US rollout first followed by European markets and plans to enter the Asian markets earlier next year. The first roll out of Suneris would be a five pack of five milliliter syringes which would cost around$ 150. With an aim to expand its manufacturing, Suneris has entered into a partnership with VetPlus which is a UK based company that manufactures the veterinary medicines. Landolina says that within a matter of few years, Suneris aims to reach out to treat human species as well with its miracle VetiGel product. Landolina foresees his miracle VetiGel to first help the military personnel and EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) who treat traumatic injuries and then move to operating rooms and lastly to individual households. However, the product would first require to receive FDA approval to test the gel on human wounds and Landolina expects to receive this approval within a year. Landolina says: “Suneris has yet to observe any negative side effects of VetiGel.” Further to ensure that the product suffices the requirement, Suneris also conducts weekly meetings with the veterinarians. Hopefully, VetiGel proves to be safe for animals and humans; thus we too can envisage a future where humans would no longer have to panic on non stop gushing of blood from deep cuts in some accidents or emergency situations.
