A World First.
The Army Blood Transfusion Center (CTSA) has reached a significant milestone by hosting, on February 17, 2026, the first VeliPod prototype (developed by Velico Medical) at its Clamart facility. This innovation, designed to ensure rapid availability of vital blood products, enhances the CTSA’s capacity to address high-intensity challenges.
Hemorrhagic injury is indeed a major medical challenge in military medicine. It remains a leading cause of preventable and visible deaths on the battlefield. “The first half-hour is decisive in operational situations: a hemorrhagic casualty must be treated within the first minutes,” confirms Chief of Out-of-Class Medical Services (MCSHC) Jean-Jacques LATAILLADE, director of the CTSA.
Facing this urgency, the VeliPod innovation is poised to be a major breakthrough in the field of blood transfusion. MCSHC Jean-Jacques LATAILLADE, who spearheaded the product’s export to the Armed Forces Health Service, outlines the key features of the innovation.
A New Disruptive Technology.
Unlike the historical universal lyophilized plasma (PLYO) produced by the CTSA through a sublimation process (cold production), VeliPod generates dry plasma using a dessication process (drying by heat). “A different technology that time will allow us to evaluate,” adds the facility’s director.
The VeliPod system consists of two containers. The first container houses a hot air sterilization device to dry the collected plasma. Meanwhile, the second container contains two distinct devices. “A first machine separates the water from the plasma, while a second isolates the plasma inside a plasticized kit,” summarizes the chief medical officer. The bag is then sealed with welds, ready for use and easy to store. This technological change aims to bypass the environmental and technological complexity required for PLYO preparation.
Speed and Mobility.
One of VeliPod’s key advantages lies in its speed of execution: a pouch production takes only 45 minutes, and rehydration only 3 minutes before transfusion to a hemorrhagic casualty.
The VeliPod containers are also configured to meet the mobility imperative imposed by new conflict scenarios. Unlike PLYO production, which is fixed, dry plasma via VeliPod is created in two mobile containers, requiring only water and electricity supply. “VeliPod enables manufacturing in a clean mobile environment, without relying on heavy infrastructure such as clean rooms,” specifies MCSHC Jean-Jacques Lataillade.
Large-Scale Production.
By combining speed, mobility, and technological efficiency, the VeliPod innovation achieves a crucial goal in a major commitment: the production of a large volume of pouches. “In 48 hours, VeliPod innovation can produce 64 plasma pouches,” announces MCSHC Jean-Jacques LATAILLADE. “This innovation should be seen as a product that complements our current therapeutic arsenal to cope with high-intensity scenarios, but not as a substitute for PLYO,” he adds.
Ongoing Developments.
VeliPod will undergo a year of evaluations to measure its performance in the field. “We will also submit a file to the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products. If the results are conclusive, we plan to acquire several pieces of equipment to scale up production,” observes the chief medical officer.
Trials on the effectiveness of the innovation are already underway, and the inauguration of the VeliPod containers is scheduled in the coming months.
