The Purgo Pouch is one of Dr. Williams’ original inventions. It is a refillable drug delivery device that sustains local, high-dose drug therapy in injury or surgical sites. Drs. Williams and Ashton co-founded Purgo Scientific, which licensed the Purgo Pouch technology from the University of Utah. The FDA recently granted the Purgo Pouch Breakthrough Device Designation specifically to treat open fracture-related infections. The Department of Defense has multiple research focus areas targeting this space in part because there is still no effective solution to the problem. For seven years, Dr. Ashton has provided pivotal oversight on Purgo Pouch design aspects, leading it to a manufacturable state. Dr. Rothberg’s clinical insight influenced design considerations and a surgical approach for the device. The Department of Defense is currently providing over $9M in funding for these investigators to continue Purgo Pouch development including additional safety and efficacy tests in a highly unique sheep model, and help their team navigate the FDA review process.

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