The capability to decontaminate (preferably neutralize, but at least remove) chemical and biological agents in open-wounds of casualties is extremely valuable to the military. This capability will increase the safety and survivability of casualties and personnel in the course of medical treatment of casualties in an environment that is contaminated with chemical and/or biological threat agents, as well as allow medical personnel to more readily treat casualties in a safe and effective manner. The technology needs to be rapid but mild due to the sensitive nature of open-wounds. The decontamination of a patient with an open- wound is a multi-faceted problem that involves both personal decontamination by the wounded individual, and casualtyde contamination by medical support personnel. The principal objectives of the proposed Phase I program are to:a. Demonstrate, with simulants, the feasibility of a novel method of decontaminating an open-wound that should be effective with a broad range of CWA, and that would be simple and light enough to be used as a method of personal decontamination. b. Develop a patient decontamination procedure that would be less time consuming, but just as safe, than the current method specified in Appendix C of FM 8-10-7. Personal Decontamination: The Phase I effort will provide the technical data needed to establish the viability of a novel means of personal decontamination that would be effective against a broad range of agents. This product offers many possibilities for improved wound treatment, not the least is the ability to adsorb therapeutic or bacteriostatic agents onto a material that otherwise would behave as a normal gauze bandage. Casualty Decontamination: The Phase I effort will provide the technical data needed to compare the efficiency and effectiveness of a proposed spray decontamination approach to the current method now being used. It will also provide a preliminary design of a prototype field decontamination module that would be built and tested in Phase II. Potential users of this equipment are projected to include hospitals, fire departments, and manufacturers and distributors of toxic chemicals
Keywords: Decontamination, Personal Decontamination, Spray Cleaning, Adsorption, Chemical Warfare Agents, Casualty Decontamination, Absorption, Decontamination Station
