Tourniquet system for personalized restriction of blood flow

An apparatus for regulating tourniquet cuff pressure based on a personalized restrictive pressure (PRP), comprising:

• a dual-purpose tourniquet cuff having a single inflatable bladder and configured to be applied to a location on a limb;
• an estimating component operable to estimate a limb occlusion pressure (LOP) by determining a minimum pressure in the bladder at which arterial blood penetration past the dual-purpose tourniquet cuff is stopped;
• an establishing component operable to establish a PRP by determining a second pressure that is less than the LOP;
• and
• a control component operable during an activity time period for maintaining pressure in the dual-purpose tourniquet cuff near the PRP, thereby restricting but not stopping arterial blood penetration past the dual-purpose cuff during the activity time period.

An apparatus for regulating tourniquet cuff pressure based on a personalized restrictive pressure (PRP), comprising:

• a dual-purpose tourniquet cuff having a bladder and configured to be applied to a location on a limb;
• control means operable during a pre-activity time period for estimating a pressure at which arterial blood penetration past the dual-purpose tourniquet cuff is restricted but not stopped by analyzing pressure pulsations in the bladder of the cuff that are associated with selected pressures in the bladder, thereby to identify a PRP at the location;
• regulation means operable during an activity time period for maintaining pressure in the bladder of the dual-purpose tourniquet cuff near the PRP, thereby restricting but not stopping arterial blood penetration past the cuff during the activity time period;
• and
• movement sensing means for determining a level of movement of the limb associated with pressure fluctuations in the bladder that are independent of the pressure pulsations analyzed for the estimation of the PRP.