( CNN ) -- You can find many things in Williams-Sonoma , the kitchenware retailer . Cookie sheets . Spatulas . And , oh yeah , an idea for treating gunshot wounds . At least , that 's what RevMedx found . The U.S. military had asked the medical technology company to come up with a solution for stopping gunshot and shrapnel wounds from bleeding out . The working idea was a medical version of Fix-a-Flat , the foam you squirt in punctured tires to plug up a hole . ( Perhaps the military had been browsing at Pep Boys . ) Instead , it was a sponge that solved the problem , says Andrew Barofsky , RevMedx 's CEO . `` One of the co-founders of the company , Dr. Ken Gregory , was shopping at a Williams-Sonoma and discovered this kitchen sponge that was dried and compressed . You 'd bring it home , splash water under it , and it would pop up into a normal-sized kitchen sponge , '' he recalls . `` That was kind of a lightbulb moment . '' Through a series of iterations , the concept was turned into XStat , a dose of tiny sponge-like discs that are injected into an open wound with a syringe . The sponges , which have been treated with an anti-hemorrhagic substance , expand to 10 times their size in seconds , both plugging the wound and providing needed compression to stanch the bleeding . It could be a revolutionary battlefield tool , says John Steinbaugh , a former Special Forces medic and the company 's director of strategic development . In battle , life is measured in blood , and the standard method of plugging wounds -- packing them with gauze or tampons and then applying direct pressure for several minutes -- can take several minutes too long , he says . Bleeding out is a major cause of fatalities . `` Three to five minutes can mean the difference between life and death , '' he says . Medics were looking for something that `` you fire and forget , '' he says . `` You put it in and the bleeding instantly stops . '' XStat received FDA approval in April , and RevMedx is now ready to get it into the hands of medics , says Barofsky . He expects to provide a limited quantity of XStats to the U.S. military in 2014 , with the hopes of expanding the market to other clients -- such as paramedics and law enforcement officers -- in the future . Steinbaugh , who spent 25 years in the military , believes the XStat can be , literally , a life saver . `` Every drop of blood on the battlefield is precious , '' he says . `` The faster you can stop the bleeding , the higher the probability you can save a guy 's life . '' And you thought sponges were just for washing dishes .
XStat is an invention used to plug wounds . Syringe filled with tiny sponges fills up wound , applies compression in seconds . On a battlefield , where risk of bleeding out is high , innovation is key . XStat received FDA approval in April and will be shipped to U.S. military .