18 January 2026
An experienced emergency doctor has warned that today’s shark attack involving a 12-year-old at a Sydney eastern suburbs beach highlights a critical gap in frontline trauma response — and says new smart technology could dramatically improve survival in catastrophic bleeding emergencies.
Former Westpac Rescue Helicopter doctor Dr Adrian Cohen, who has spent more than 30 years in pre-hospital emergency medicine, said the outcome of incidents like today’s attack often hinges on the first minutes of bleeding control.
“In many cases, injuries like this are unsurvivable without immediate, effective haemorrhage control,” Dr Cohen said.
“It was encouraging to hear that first responders used a tourniquet — but not all tourniquets are equal, and many fail because they’re not applied correctly or tightly enough.”
Dr Cohen said both civilian trauma data and modern battlefield medicine show that manual tourniquets are frequently under-tightened, loosen during movement, or are applied too late to stop arterial bleeding.
That risk, he said, is now being addressed by a newly launched Smart Tourniquet, developed by an Israeli Defence Force trauma surgeon and recently introduced to Australia.
The TAK710 Smart Tourniquet is a battery-powered, computer-controlled device that automatically inflates above a patient’s blood pressure using onboard sensors. It can be applied in under 15 seconds, eliminating guesswork and reducing human error.
“There’s no tightening by feel, no risk of loosening, and no uncertainty about whether bleeding is actually controlled,” Dr Cohen said. “In severe limb trauma — including shark attacks — this can literally be the difference between life and death.”
The device is registered for use in Australia and retails for approximately $300.
Dr Cohen said the technology has clear relevance well beyond marine incidents, noting that mass-casualty events, road trauma, industrial accidents, military applications and terrorist attacks all share the same leading preventable cause of death: uncontrolled bleeding.
“Looking back, responders at the Bondi terrorist attack would almost certainly have benefitted from a device like this,” he said.
He is calling for smart tourniquets to become standard equipment for ambulances, surf lifesaving services, lifeguards, defence personnel, and high-risk recreational users such as surfers and divers.
“We teach people how to swim between the flags,” Dr Cohen said.
“We should be just as serious about giving first responders the tools that actually stop people bleeding to death.”
Leave a Reply