Scientists create groundbreaking spray that can heal wounds in seconds

A new spray could be used to help rapidly heal cuts and wounds, scientists have said.

The powder is designed to be sprayed onto a wound or cut and stop it bleeding.

You might be thinking that we already have things like plasters and bandages to help close up wounds, so what exactly is the advantage of this invention over those methods?

It was created by scientists working at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and was designed to be used on injuries where something like a plaster or a bandage may not be as effective.

But just how does this new invention actually work?

The short version is that when it is sprayed onto a bleeding wound, it reacts with the blood and turns into a gel, which seals the wound and stops the bleeding.

It's a simple technology that might just change the game (Javier Zayas Photography/Getty)

It is intended to be used in scenarios where someone has a deep or irregularly-shaped injury which would make using a bandage more difficult.

For example, if someone was in a car accident and had a large cut on their leg.

It is also quicker to use than wrapping a bandage, as it's a case of pointing it at the injury and spraying.

But its creators have also indicated that its intended use in traumatic scenarios includes a defence application as well, so treating the kinds of wounds that a solider might have in a combat zone.

PHD candidate Kyusoon Park is an army major who participated in the research.

He said: “The core of modern warfare is minimizing the loss of human life,” and added, “I started the research with a sense of mission to save even one more soldier.

“I hope this technology will be used as a life-saving technology in both national defense and private medical fields.”

In theory, it will be as easy as this (Jaromir/Getty)

The research team was led by Professor Steve Park of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Professor Sangyong Jon of the Department of Biological Sciences.

The powder is a 'hemostatic agent', 'hemo' being blood and static, well, you know that bit, so it literally means 'blood not moving'.

Compounds in the powder react with substances in the blood called 'cations' - that's a positively charged ion for the non-science-y folks out there.

This reaction changes the powder into a gel in one second, which seals the wound and stops it from bleeding further.

It has been tested to be used in difficult environments such as disasters and combat zones, with a variety of stressors such as weather and temperature, and it is hoped that it will have a wide application in emergency medicine due to being easy to transport and quick to use.