AN EDINBURGH Napier University graduate is hoping that his new emergency medical device can help people with no medical training and ultimately save lives.
Scott Rutherford first came up with the idea for Scotseal during his final year on Napier’s product design course.
The prototype he created won the programme’s Best in Show award at the 2025 Degree Show, and also saw him named runner-up at the UK-wide New Designers awards.
Now, the former car mechanic is developing his emergency medical device for external haemorrhage at the Medical Device Manufacturing Centre (MDMC), with the hope of beginning technical trials this summer.
Scotseal is designed to be an intuitive device for zero responders (often untrained members of the public already on the scene of an incident) to instantly seal and stop blood loss, by mimicking the exact shape and form of the wound, until medical help arrives.
Now a working product, Scott’s mechanical solution is operated in four simple steps, intended to be easy to follow for someone with no medical training.
Scott is determined to make his innovation freely available for use in emergency situations around the world.
Scott said: “Blood loss injury is an ancient problem. As long as there have been people around, there have been haemorrhages.
“However, in this current age with all the technology we have, there’s nothing modern to fix it. Whether it’s tourniquets, haemostatic gauze or chest seals – they’re all a little primal.
“When people see a blood loss injury, it is extremely traumatic. No-one without previous experience is going to come over and help. They might try – they might have seen someone tie a tourniquet with their belt in a movie – however the chances of getting it right are quite slim.
“I want to get people to act. This product will encourage them to do something in a critical situation.”
Scott’s design has already gone through dozens of iterations, which he continues to refine at home and the MDMC laboratory.
It has been protected by patent pending status, with plans to take the patent international. He is now beginning a round of fundraising in the pursuit of producing a testing a product fit for medical use in the UK and overseas.
“The process have been very challenging,” he added.
“The concept was simple, yet to make a design real takes a lot of work and a lot of failure.
“I knew at university that I wanted to help people, and the ultimate way to help someone is to save their life. I looked at overall cause of mortality, and while the highest ones were medical conditions or disease, below that was external haemorrhage.
“I have always felt confident in the idea. Even when it has failed and it seems like there’s no way to fix it, I know there’s always a way. Failure has been my superpower.
“Everything in the product is there for a reason. It’s transparent so you can see mechanisms operating, while some areas are coloured to highlight the touch points during interaction.
“The device is completely mechanical in operation, there are no electronics or digital components. so there are fewer things that can go wrong.
“A lot of people ask what’s inside – which I can’t talk about too much. The most important thing is how simple it is for the user.”
Alongside his development work, Scott currently spends three days a week as a graduate demonstrator at Edinburgh Napier, supporting the next cohort of product design students.
As for Scotseal, Scott hopes that it could one day be provided in the boot of every new car or publicly available at potential accident sites.
He said: “To use my knowledge and my background for good is my biggest motivation. Being a car mechanic, studying art at college, then putting art and mechanics together to go into design – that was always my aim.
“It’s really important to me that this becomes a real device that makes a difference and saves lives. I truly believe that good design has the power to change the world.
“When people instantly understand the operation of the device and ask, ‘why is there not already something like this out there?’, it really emphasises the problem and shows the need for an updated solution.
“This is as much about getting people to act through understanding, as it is getting them over that barrier of fear, to grab this product and save a life.”
You can find out more about Scott’s fundraising drive and plans for Scotseal here.
