A first-line tool on the rise

Once considered only a rescue therapy by physicians, Hemospray® Endoscopic Hemostat has grown to be an essential product doctors don’t want to risk being without  

Manufactured at Cook Winston-Salem, Hemospray Endoscopic Hemostat is used to treat gastrointestinal bleeding, which can take place anywhere in the digestive tract. The product is unique to the medical device market and was the outcome of a collaboration with Johns Hopkins, where an advanced GI fellow, Dr. Sam Giday, offered possible solutions for difficult-to-treat gastrointestinal bleeds. His idea was based on similar products used by the military for severe bleeding experienced in combat. Cook Medical’s Research and Development (R&D) engineers worked with Dr. Giday to create prototypes for the new device, ultimately leading to the product and delivery system known as Hemospray Endoscopic Hemostat.

This product is a single-use device. The powder from the device is delivered to the site of the bleeding by using carbon dioxide (CO₂) to propel the powder through a long catheter that is inserted through the endoscope, which is a small, flexible tube that has a light and camera built into it. When the powder is applied to a bleeding lesion, the powder absorbs the water from the blood and creates an adhesive coating, acting like a bandage over the lesion.

While other well-established treatments for gastrointestinal bleeding do exist, many of these are considered more invasive or require more skill to use. These include technologies like endoscopic hemostasis clips, which are large metal clips placed at the site of a gastrointestinal bleed. However, this and many of the other possible interventions do not work well for those patients with certain comorbidities (the presence of two or more medical conditions in a patient at the same time). Elderly patients, those being treated for cancer, and morbidly obese patients are much more likely to have poor outcomes from GI bleeding, and other treatments like hemostatic clips can be difficult to place and can cause further tissue damage. The goal with the Hemospray is to stop the bleeding and prevent undue bodily trauma to the patient.

According to David Wagner, global medical science liaison based at Cook Winston-Salem, while physicians generally prefer to keep using the tools they have come to rely on, many have turned to using Hemospray as a first line of treatment for gastrointestional bleeding.

“Before, Hemospray was considered a rescue therapy. When nothing else was working, physicians would turn to Hemospray as a last resort. Now that they see how well the product performs and successfully stops the bleeding, doctors don’t want to be without it. I’m so thrilled to have been involved with this product. It is seemingly so simple but has had such a profound effect in saving lives,” David said.

Check out the video below to see how Hemospray is used.

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