Tourniquets are applied to limbs to stop bleeding. They are typically applied to a limb proximal to an exsanguination site and sufficiently tightened to overcome the blood pressure driving the bleeding (typically arterial), thereby stopping the bleeding. Tourniquets are also used to assist in phlebotomy; for this use, the tourniquet is tightened just enough to permit blood to collect in the vein to be accessed.
Tourniquets disclosed herein may be used for these purposes. In some embodiments, they may be applied one-handed. Consequently, they may be especially well-suit for use in emergency situations, such as when a person who is in need of tourniquet application is isolated or has no immediate access to medical personnel or to another person to apply the tourniquet.
One of the chief difficulties in applying a tourniquet one-handed is getting the tourniquet in snug contact with the limb. The tourniquet disclosed herein may overcome this difficulty by providing a member that can slide along the tourniquet. When the tourniquet is draped over/around a limb and the sliding member is attached to one end, the other end of the tourniquet may be tugged; this takes up the slack around the limb and makes the tourniquet snug around the limb.
The elastic band may be made from a wide variety of materials, such as latex rubber and other elastic polymers. The band may include a bungee cord. The band may be provided in a variety of shapes, such as a sheet, a cord, and/or a strap. The band may have rounded edges to help prevent discomfort or tissue injury. The band should be long enough to allow it to be wrapped around a limb, such as a human upper extremity, arm, forearm, lower extremity, thigh, or leg. The band should be stretchable so that it may be wrapped around the limb and thereby compress the limb. The band should have a spring constant such that it may be stretched enough to exert sufficient pressure on a limb to exceed the blood pressure causing bleeding. The spring constant may be in the range of, for example, about 1 N/m to about 300 N/m. A tourniquet used to control arterial bleeding should be able to exert enough pressure to overcome the arterial systolic pressure; accordingly, the stretched elastic band should be able to overcome 80 mm Hg, 100 mmHg, 120 mmHg, 150 mmHg, and/or 200 mmHg. The band may have a width of at least ¼ inch, at least ½ inch, at least 1 inch, up to 1½ inches, up to 2 inches, between 1 inch and 2 inches, and/or between 1 inch and 1½ inches.
The attachment members can be made from a variety of materials, such as metals, plastics, and/or polymers.
The third attachment member may be shaped to resist free motion along the band. For example, portion 42 may closely grip the band so that the third attachment member moves only when tugged with a minimum force, such as 5 N, 10N, 20N, 50N, and/or 100 N. In one embodiment, the portion 42 and/or may include an adhesive surface. In another embodiment, a surface of the portion 42 may include hook- or loop-fasteners, and the band may include the complementary material.
The present description is further illustrated by the following example, which should not be construed as limiting the claims in any way.
In some instances, one end of the tourniquet may be anchored to facilitate draping the tourniquet and attaching one end to the slider. Suitable anchors include, for example, a belt loop when applying the tourniquet to an arm (
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/805,391, filed Jun. 21, 2006, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60805391 | Jun 2006 | US |