Nocera Team receives Accelerator Award to develop and test junctional tourniquet technology

The Nocera Team, led by principle investigator Tanya Nocera, assistant professor of practice (BME), has won a one-year

award in the amount of $150k from the Accelerator Awards program in Ohio State’s Corporate Engagement Office. The Accelerator Award program aims to generate the proof needed to advance Ohio State technologies to the point that they are either ready to be licensed by an Ohio-based startup company or are determined to be unfeasible for commercialization.

The groups technology is a new tourniquet device used to stop bleeding from the hard-to-reach junctional (groin, axillary) regions. The funding will help further refine and de-risk the group’s design, resulting in a technical data package ready for either licensing to a company or the creation of a start-up. This project was previously boosted by a $3k Center for Clinical and Translational Science voucher in 2019 before applying for the accelerator award.

Project title: A junctional tourniquet for control of bleeding from areas not accessible to standard extremity tourniquets.

Brief summary: Exsanguination, or “bleeding to death,” is a leading cause of preventable deaths world-wide, and accounts for up to 90% of preventable combat fatalities – 17.5% of which are due to hemorrhage from the torso-appendage junction. We are developing a new Junctional Tourniquet device that: 1) tightly conforms to the wound, 2) can be quickly and effectively applied in high-pressure combat environments, and 3) has a size/weight profile compatible with tactical medic bags. Additional applications of this technology can include law enforcement, EMS and civilian (i.e., active shooter situations).

The junctional tourniquet is currently patent pending (provisional stage), inventors are Tanya Nocera, PhD (BME), Nadi Graham, Ohio State Highway Patrol Tactical Medic, and Dr. J. Allen McElroy, MD, Trauma Surgeon and the Trauma Medical

Director for Marietta Memorial Hospital in South East Ohio.  The project began as a capstone design project in 2017-2018 with a collaboration between the Integrated Business and Engineering Program (IBE) and Biomedical Engineering (BME). During this period Dr. McElroy was completing a 1-year critical care fellowship at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. 

The large Nocera Accelerator Award team includes the following investigators from Ohio State:  Mary Pancake, project manager, Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME), John Bockbrader, engineering lead (CDME), Gary Allread, ergo/anthro lead, Industrial Systems & Engineering (ISE) and Michael Rayo, usability lead (ISE). The team will be supporting two part-time GRAs, one from BME and one from ISE.  The groups subject matter experts/advisory team includes Industry Expert Andrew Cothrel, from Blue Marble Medical, co-inventor Nadi Graham (Ohio State Highway Patrol tactical medic), co-inventor Dr. J. Allen McElroy, MD (Trauma Surgeon), and two military experts, retired colonel Doug Hodge and world-renowned military tourniquet expert Dr. John Kragh, MD (orthopedic surgeon).

Congratulations Dr. Nocera and Team!