Calgary wound treatment reaches Ukraine front lines

A wound and burn treatment developed by a Calgary company is now being used on the front lines in Ukraine to assist wounded soldiers and civilians. The product, known as NanoSALV Catalytic, was initially funded by Canada's Department of National Defence and received approval from Health Canada in 2022. Before its military application, the treatment was evaluated by being used on unhoused populations in encampments.

Megan Leslie, co-founder and CEO of NanoTess, noted that the company began with a grant from National Defence in 2020. She described the current deployment in Ukraine as a full circle moment for the technology. The results of the treatment's use in the conflict zone were presented at the CAN Health Network Annual Conference in Toronto on Wednesday.

The treatment consists of a catalyst suspended in a lightweight, non-flammable gel that can be applied directly to injuries. Because of its physical properties, it can be transported to the front line by drone. This allows individuals with limited medical training to administer the treatment effectively.

NanoSALV was made available for use on the Ukrainian front lines in June of this year. Since then, the gel has been used to treat 6,000 wounded soldiers and civilians. The product utilizes nanomaterials to accelerate and support the body's natural healing processes. It reduces the energy required for healing and combats germs and other infection-causing micro-organisms.

Hailie Uren, a clinical pharmacist working with the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, emphasized the importance of the treatment in saving time on the battlefield. Uren, who has been in eastern Ukraine for the past four years, explained that the gel can be applied and begin working even in situations where a single nurse is responsible for up to 90 patients.

Uren stated that the wound can heal without the need for consistent nursing intervention. She also noted that the catalytic gel is in high demand among patients. She described a scenario where, after she visits a casualty the day after their arrival at the hospital, other people in the room try to find wounds so she can use the treatment on them as well.

The relevance of burn treatment in military contexts recently came to the attention of the Canadian public when a wind-whipped wildfire killed four Canadian soldiers and burned dozens more at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright earlier this month. Dr. Eric Fung, an Alberta-based surgeon who has spent time in Ukraine, remarked that his colleagues were responding to some of the larger burn injuries in Edmonton following the incident.

Fung highlighted the benefits of using the gel during mass casualty events. He explained that such events overload an already overtaxed healthcare system. To manage the influx of new patients, medical teams need to get people in and out of the hospital efficiently. The use of the gel can help reduce the strain on the system by facilitating faster treatment and recovery.