DURANGO, Colo.— Amiee Shanks calls a group of 25 first responders to take their seats before explaining how they will be testing a new device to treat burn victims.
“We’re going to have you apply gauze to a certain area, as you normally would. And then we’re going to have you do it with Emergency Dermal System,” said Shanks, grabbing the blue sleeve-like device as she continued explaining the exercise.
The Fort Lewis College student is one of five exercise physiology seniors in charge of testing the Emergency Dermal System (EDS), a new device designed to improve burn treatment in the field by providing faster care and reducing cross-contamination.
Early this month, more than two dozen volunteers from several area agencies, including Durango Fire, Silverton Medical Rescue and Upper Pine Fire, participated in the study that first responder-turned-entrepreneur Stuart Buergler, (Accounting, ’17), hopes will help bring “EDS” to market.
From first responder to innovator
With about 15 years in the field—first as an emergency responder and later as a supply purchasing manager—Buergler saw what the industry had to offer and trained first responders on the unique nature of burn injuries.
“I just disliked everything that we were doing for this patient population. The current standard of care tend
s to worsen these patients' trajectory until they get to a specialized burn unit," he said.
Seeing a need, Buergler developed a series of medical devices that allow first responders to quickly put a “sleeve," “pant,” and “glove” on the patient. The devices—which are now patented—look like hospital bed pads that have been sewn together and then cut to fit around a patient’s arms or legs or as oversized oven mitts.
“We seem to be the first company that's really trying to emphasize mitigating hypothermia and all the healthcare-acquired infections,” said Buergler, founder and managing partner at Emergency Dermal Solutions.
Community connections
Buergler said he’s counted on the support of the FLC faculty, including associate professor of Physics and Engineering Devin Leahy and Chemistry Professor Kenny Miller, throughout the development process.
“I’m just a guy with an idea,” Buergler said. “I’m very fortunate, and it's been a fortuitous benefit that Fort Lewis College happens to be here in Durango, Colorado. They've had some of the most approachable, agreeable, patient researchers that I've been able to network with, and they've been able to basically hold my hand through the whole academic process. It's been a godsend. I couldn't have done it without FLC.”
When it came time to test the devices, he thought of Professor Jennifer Lowell, Ph.D., associate professor and Chair of the Public Health Department, who had tested ambulances for bacteria. Buergler contacted Lowell, who in turn referred him to Missy Thompson, an associate professor of Health and Human Performance.
Her students spent the first semester learning about burn injuries, infections, and treatments. Then, they developed the study before implementing it earlier this month. In addition to Shanks, students included Stacia Raley, Lily Burton, Mia Boughton, and Sky Shumate.
“The students put together the project, and it’s really been driven by them. They developed a whole study protocol,” said Thompson. “It’s great for the students to participate in a project that’s not just created for the sake of doing something but there’s an actual need that they’re filling. This is a real-world project, research in real life.”
Real-world experience
At Schlessman Family Hall, after being divided into smaller groups at five tables, the volunteers were further divided into pairs—one designated as a patient and the other a first responder—to test each device on their legs, hands, and arms.
Then, the first responder donned gloves and covered them Go Glow Gel™ before wrapping a patient’s hands, arm, or leg with gauze. At each table, one of the students recorded how long it took to apply each treatment and noted where there had been a transference of gel to show potential contamination. Then, they repeated the process with the new EDS device.
Shanks shined an LED black light on gauze, covering the patient’s leg. Fluorescent gel residue revealed several purple dots. She recorded the findings on a human figure diagram. After the first responder applied the EDS, no purple dots appeared.
“That was our fastest yet,” Shanks noted, timing the application at just 13 seconds—compared to nearly two minutes with traditional gauze.
Ted Hermesman III, who’s been with Durango Fire and Rescue for a decade, sees EDS as a game-changer.
“It makes it so simple, so fast, and from what we can tell, the transfer of germs is almost next to zero. It’s way, way faster than wrapping gauze, and it’s way easier, too—much cleaner,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about the manipulation you have to worry about with gauze. You pretty much slide it on. It gets a sterile dressing on that wound very quickly. It’s super easy. It’s such a simple system that I’m surprised no one’s thought of it before.”
For seniors, getting the opportunity to do research on something they might actually see used in their lifetime is a great experience.
Sky Shumate said she enjoyed learning about the problem EDS was trying to fix and devising a study to evaluate its effectiveness.
“I think it's so cool that you get to do research that actually might have impacts in real life and for real people. That was definitely what we were all saying,” she added. “We were, like, imagine, a couple of years down the road, one of us gets burned on the stove or something. The paramedics come, and they're like, ‘Oh, we're going to use this EDS.’ And we're like, ‘Hey, we actually studied this and tested it.’ It's been super fun.”
Shanks agreed.
“It’s super exciting to think that this is something that could definitely be a huge medical advancement in the future, that I can say: ‘That was part of my undergraduate research.’ I don’t think a lot of people get that,” she said.
“It’s been super awesome to work with and study something that’s never been done before. That’s just one of the really cool experiences you get here at Fort Lewis, with small class sizes and Missy organizing this experience and everything—it’s really awesome.”