Universal Combat Matrix®: Integrated Point-of-Injury Hemorrhage Control and Wound Care for the Modern Battlefield

The Problem: Uncontrolled hemorrhage accounts for 91% of potentially survivable battlefield deaths, yet the wounds driving that toll remain inadequately managed at the point of injury. Current hemostatic standards require extended firm pressure, risk iatrogenic vessel occlusion, and consume critical minutes of the Golden Hour per wound, a cost that is difficult to absorb in conventional operations and clinically untenable in multidomain environments where CASEVAC is frequently infeasible and care windows routinely extend well beyond that threshold. Burns and blast injuries compound the challenge further, creating sepsis and distributive shock pathways that unfold over hours when definitive care is delayed. Weight and size constraints prevent warfighters from compensating by carrying more; the solution must be more capable, not simply more of the same.

Solution & Progress: SiOxMed has developed the Universal Combat Matrix® (UCM®), an all-in-one point-of-injury platform that integrates hemostatic and regenerative functionality into a single, lightweight, shelf-stable system deployable with minimal training and suited for use in the most austere environments. By replicating fibrin and the collagen extracellular matrix, the biological architecture the body relies on for clot formation and tissue repair, UCM® actively enhances cell interaction, fluid absorption, and hemostatic effectiveness. The result is performance comparable to current standards with significantly reduced intervention burden: light pressure, streamlined application, and minimized dressing disturbance that protects clot integrity under operational stress. Results have also demonstrated the UCM®’s ability to outperform current standards by reducing rebleeding and improving vessel patency following treatment in preclinical large-animal models. These findings have significant implications for limb salvage and sustained hemorrhage control, particularly in tourniquet conversion during prolonged field care scenarios—an increasingly critical challenge in multi-domain operations against near-peer adversaries. The platform is also being evaluated for potential wound infection control and pain management applications, further expanding its utility as a comprehensive point-of-injury solution.

Since receiving MTEC Award24-01-MPAI-032, SiOxMed has advanced large-animal validation studies demonstrating efficacy across coagulopathic hemorrhage, burn injury, and complex wound models, while evaluating material tolerability and multi-day performance. In parallel, the company has refined field-ready product formats, expanded manufacturing readiness within its FDA-registered, ISO 13485-compliant facility, and progressed along regulatory pathways for both military and civilian use, positioning UCM® for near-term deployment at commercial scale.

Impact & the Role of MTEC: In practical terms, UCM® means warfighters who would not have survived the wait now have a credible chance of reaching definitive care alive. By consolidating multi-wound management into a single carried item, reducing the technical demands of application under stress, and extending effective hemostatic control into prolonged field care timelines, UCM® directly expands what a warfighter, or a fellow soldier with minimal medical training, can accomplish at the point of injury. In multidomain operations where the Golden Hour is a planning assumption that battlefield reality routinely breaks, UCM® transitions hemorrhage control from a race against evacuation to a managed clinical bridge.

MTEC and its Government sponsors have been instrumental in advancing UCM® from a promising concept to a validated platform. MTEC support has helped enable the large-animal studies, regulatory progression, and manufacturing scale-up that are accelerating UCM®'s path to broad military and civilian deployment. As the program advances, SiOxMed is actively seeking strategic partners, including distribution and commercialization partners, early adopters, and research collaborators, to expand the platform's reach and capabilities across the military and medical ecosystem.