GB2543485A

GB2543485A - Tourniquets

Info

Publication number: GB2543485A
Application number: GB1518047.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ye Huijuan
Original assignee: GAMOLIN Ltd
Current assignee: GAMOLIN Ltd
Priority date: 2015-10-12
Filing date: 2015-10-12
Publication date: 2017-04-26
Also published as: GB201518047D0

Abstract

A tourniquet of stretchable material shaped to provide a tension indicator, for example during the moulding process, to show the pressure being applied to a limb. The indicator may be a shape that deforms under extension to a more symmetrical shape, such a rectangle, ellipse or isosceles triangle deforming into a square, circle or equilateral triangle respectively. The bandage may be up to 1mm thick and formed from latex-free silicon. The marks may be raised or sunken imprints with a height or depth of 0.1-0.2mm, or may be holes.

Description

Tourniquets

This invention relates to tourniquets, particularly to elastic tourniquets that are fastened in place under tension.

Such tourniquets, comprising an elastic band, are used, for example, when cannulating a vein for taking a blood sample, and the tension should be not too little and not too much. Desirably, the tourniquet should have an indication enabling the clinician to judge when the tension is right. US8372024 discloses a tourniquet, though not of the elastic strip type nor for quite the same purpose, that bears markings in the form of oblongs printed on to the tourniquet. When the correct tension is applied, the oblongs are stretched into squares.

The present invention provides a tension indicating tourniquet that is a substantial improvement over that disclosed in US8372024.

The invention comprises a tourniquet of mouldable elastic material comprising a moulded-in indication of tension. A popular tourniquet comprises a band moulded in latex-free silicone material which has circular holes along its length to receive a button shank. In such a tourniquet, according to the invention, the holes may be made elliptical, with their long axes transverse to the stretch, so that, at the right tension, theybecome circular.

For a tourniquet with a different fastening means, without such holes, tension indication may be moulded in as part of the manufacturing procedure, and may comprise simple geometricshapes, such as triangles, ellipses, oblongs, having major and minor dimensions, that deform when the tourniquet is stretched to become the like shapes with greater symmetry, in particular, equal major and minor dimensions.

Thus, an ellipse will deform into a circle, an oblong into asquare, and an isosceles triangle into an equilateral triangle.

Such markings may also, of course, be used even on tourniquets that have buttonholes.

Two advantages flow from the moulded-in indication of tension, one being in cost, in that no separate printing operation isrequired. The other is that risk of allergic or other skin reactionthat can be caused by some inks is avoided.

The degree of distortion between the relaxed state and properly tensioned state of the tourniquet can be calculated from knowledge of the clinically correct pressure against the limb surface, from which can be derived the tourniquet tension needed to achieve that pressure, and the Young's modulus of the material from which the tourniquet is made. Or, more simply by fitting an unmarked tourniquet to a clinician-approved tension and drawing on it a circle or a square, for example, and noting the extent of deformation when the tourniquet is removed entirely and relaxed.

Tourniquets according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a face on view of a short section of a first embodiment of tourniquet with elliptical buttonholes;

Figure 2. is a view like Figure 1, stretched;

Figure 3 is a view like Figure 1 of a second embodiment, relaxed;

Figure 4 is a view of the second embodiment, stretched; and

Figure 5 is a section on the line V-V of Figure 3, enlarged.

The drawings each illustrate a disposable tourniquet 11 comprising a latex-free silicone material band, like one disclosed in GB2464989.

In the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, the tourniquet 11 has holes 12 along its length to receive a shank of a button (not shown, but like the one shown in GB2464989) located in an end-wise hole to secure it in place, tensioned, on a limb of a patient, e.g. for cannulation.

In its relaxed state, Figure 1, the buttonholes 12 are elliptical, with their long axes aligned transversely of the band. In the stretched state of Figure 2, the ellipses have deformed into circles. The visual acuity of the human eye is able to judge circularity sufficiently finely to adjust the tension of the tourniquet to acceptable accuracy.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate a tourniquet 11 that has, in its relaxed state, circular buttonholes 12, though it might have no holes at all but some other fastening arrangement such, for example, as a buckle. Moulded-in markings of simple geometric shapes 13, particularly illustrated being ellipses 13a, oblongs 13b and isosceles triangles 13c, are disposed along the length of the tourniquet 11.

These shapes deform on stretching to the required tension, into circles 13a', squares 13b' and equilateral triangles 13c' as seenin Figure 4.

Of course, a tourniquet will generally need only one shape, say the ellipse, disposed along its length, rather than three different shapes as drawn in Figures 2 and 3, drawn compendiously to fit all three shapes into a single diagram.

The moulded-in markings are in very low relief - if the band 11 is, say, 1mm thick, the markings will stand above the face only to, say, 0.1 or 0.2mm, as seen in Figure 5. Markings may be onboth faces of the tourniquet or only one. The markings could, of course, be sunk into the surface of the tourniquet.

Claims

Claims: 1 A tourniquet of mouldable elastic material comprising a moulded-in indication of tension.
2 A tourniquet according to claim 1, comprising a band which has holes along its length which are elliptical, with the long axes of the ellipses aligned transversely to the length of the band, which deform, on stretching the band, into circular holes.
3 A tourniquet according to claim 1, comprising a band with moulded-in simple geometric shapes which deform on stretching into shapes with greater symmetry.
4 A tourniquet according to claim 3, in which the moulded-in shapes comprise ellipses, which deform on stretching intocircles.
5 A tourniquet according to claim 3, in which the moulded-in shapes comprise oblongs, which deform on stretching intosquares.
6 A tourniquet according to claim 3, in which the moulded-in shapes comprise isosceles triangles which deform on stretching into equilateral triangles.
7 A tourniquet according to any one of claim 1 to 6, of which the material is a latex-free silicone material.
8 A tourniquet according to any one of claims 1 to 7, of which the material is up to 1mm thick.
9 A tourniquet according to any one of claims 1 to 8, in which the indication of tension comprises raised or sunken markings.
10 A tourniquet according to claim 9, in which the markings are raised or sunken by 0.1 to 0.2mm.
11. A tourniquet substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying figures.