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US 9,855,055 B2Granted
Mechanical tourniquet apparatus and method of use
AssigneesAlphapointe, The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
InventorsChristopher B. Kosiorek, Dexter C. Drayton, Esra Abir, Neslihan Damar, Nilufer Polat, Yavuz Avci
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A pre-fabricated tourniquet that is easy to apply, that ensures consistent and even circumferential pressure, that is light weight, that provides standard life saving operation, and that can be utilized in any setting or situation, and related methods are provided. Mechanically constricting tourniquet apparatus and related methods are provided that are comprised of a tourniquet body, a carriage, a torsion bar, a receiver and a slider. The tourniquet is long enough to encircle a human limb, for example, an arm or leg.
Claims34
A blood-flow restriction tourniquet apparatus comprising:
- a tourniquet body having a length sufficient to encircle a human limb, two opposing ends, an interior side and an exterior side opposite the interior side;
- a carriage having an interior side and an exterior side opposite the interior side, the carriage attached to the tourniquet body with the carriage interior side aligned with the tourniquet body interior side and the carriage exterior side aligned with the tourniquet body exterior side and the carriage including a torsion bar retainer;
- a torsion bar positioned on the exterior side of the tourniquet body and on the exterior side of the carriage, the torsion bar having two opposing ends and a middle portion, the middle portion having a slot, and each of the two opposing ends sized and shaped to mate with the torsion bar retainer;
- a tightening strap having a middle portion and two opposite ends, the tightening strap positioned on the exterior side of the tourniquet body and on the exterior side of the carriage, each of the opposite ends of the tightening strap attached to the tourniquet body at opposite ends of the carriage with the carriage positioned between the opposite ends of the tightening strap, the middle portion of the tightening strap passing through the slot of the torsion bar;
- a receiver attached to one end of the tourniquet body;
- and
- a slider attached to the tourniquet body and positioned between the carriage and the end of the tourniquet body opposing the end with the receiver attached, the slider being sized and shaped such that the slider can be positioned at any one of a plurality of positions between the carriage and the end of the tourniquet body opposing the end with the receiver attached, and the slider and receiver sized and shaped to mate with one another;
- wherein when the torsion bar is rotated, the tightening strap is tightened and the tourniquet body is pulled in two opposite directions, equally, toward the carriage.
5 more elements
A method of making a blood-flow restriction tourniquet apparatus, the method comprising:
- providing a tourniquet body, the tourniquet body having a length sufficient to encircle a human limb, the tourniquet body having two opposing ends, an interior side and an exterior side opposite the interior side;
- attaching a carriage, the carriage having an interior side, an exterior side opposite the interior side and a torsion bar retainer, to the tourniquet body with the carriage interior side aligned with the tourniquet body interior side and the carriage exterior side aligned with the tourniquet body exterior side;
- attaching a tightening strap, the tightening strap having a middle portion and two opposite ends, to the tourniquet body at each of opposite ends of the carriage with the carriage positioned between the opposite ends of the tightening strap, the tightening strap positioned on the exterior side of the tourniquet body and on the exterior side of the carriage;
- sliding the middle portion of the tightening strap through a slot in a middle portion of a torsion bar having two opposing ends and the middle portion, the torsion bar being positioned on the exterior side of the tourniquet body and on the exterior side of the carriage, and each of the two opposing ends of the torsion bar being sized and shaped to mate with the torsion bar retainer of the carriage;
- attaching a receiver to one end of the tourniquet body;
- and
- attaching a slider to the tourniquet body positioned between the carriage and the end of the tourniquet body opposing the end with the receiver attached, the slider being sized and shaped such that the slider can be positioned at any one of a plurality of positions between the carriage and the end of the tourniquet body opposing the end with the receiver attached, and the slider and receiver sized and shaped to mate with one another;
- wherein when the torsion bar is rotated, the tightening strap is tightened and the tourniquet body is pulled in two opposite directions, equally, toward the carriage.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.