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Sam Scheinberg went to Vietnam in 1968 as a general surgeon but was not prepared for what he would see there. He had not yet finished the additional education needed to become an orthopedic surgeon, but he was thrown into a world of extremes where blast injuries were common and amputations often cost young soldiers their lives. The first case he received in the field ER was a soldier with a badly burned and broken arm. Medics in the field had followed the standard protocol at the time: splinting the arm with an inflatable cast. When Dr. Scheinberg removed the cast, all of the skin came off with it. Sam knew something different had to be done.
The answer came years later with a stick of gum. Playing with the empty wrapper he found that it molded around his finger and stayed that way. He got a sample of the wrapper material and in 1983, the SAM Splint was born.
Blast injuries usually cause amputations and 70% of casualties are caused by blasts. The problem is bleeding: soldiers in the field quickly bleed out from amputated legs and the severed femoral arteries that result. SAM Medical Products was able to address this problem with the SAM Junctional Tourniquet. Dr. Schienberg showed a graphic video of the tourniquet in use. It is a belt-like, inflatable bandage that places pressure on the right spots, stopping the flow of blood. In 2015, the US Army named the SAM Junctional Tourniquet Innovation of the Year.
“The SAM Junctional Tourniquet does things no other tourniquet can; it occludes the femoral artery in the inguinal area at the junction of the torso and legs. When blast injuries take off legs like in Boston and every day in combat zones, it can easily be fatal. It is frequently difficult if not impossible to stop the bleeding in time… A regular tourniquet encircles and compresses the entire limb. The SJT puts direct pressure on the only part of the limb that actually matters, the artery. It is well designed, ruggedly constructed, and terribly clever.” http://www.ems1.com/trauma/articles/1447092-The-SAM-junctional-tourniquet/
–DAN WHITE, EMT-P, EMS1 COLUMNIST, OWNER ARASAN, LLC
Dr. Schienberg doesn’t practice medicine anymore. He and Cherrie Scheinberg, his wife and company co-founder spend all their time on SAM. According to the web site, “SAM Medical Products is committed to bringing innovative solutions to market that meet the challenging needs of emergency medicine, the military, law enforcement, and hospitals around the world. We take pride in collaborating with our customers to discover unmet needs and create quality products that raise the bar.”
Sam Schienberg is frequently asked how to bring an invention to the market. He always lists five qualifications:
- What is the opportunity? Is it a “first mover,” a game changer in the industry? If it’s a change to an old product the change must be dramatic.
- Can you protect it? You can’t sell what you don’t own. You must be able to patent or trademark a product.
- Will it work? You’ll need a prototype.
- Can you make money on it? Do your research. Are there enough potential buyers? Who will manufacture and market your product?
- How will you fund the production of it? Look at self-funding, friends and family, grants, industry partners, crowd funding (e.g. Kickstarter), “angel” investors, and/or venture capital.
According to its web site, SAM Medical Products is a developer and manufacturer of innovative medical products used for emergency, military, and hospital care. Products include the widely used SAM Splint, SAM Chest Seal, SAM Junctional Tourniquet, SAM Pelvic Sling, Soft Shell Splint, BursaMed line of shear and friction relieving dressings, and Blist-O-Ban blister prevention bandages. For more information, visit http://www.sammedical.com.
Sam Scheinberg is originally from Tennessee. He and his wife, Cherrie have lived in Oregon since 1973.
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