Patent ID: 8425426
Filing Date: 2013-04-23
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. Tourniquet apparatus for measuring a patient's limb occlusion pressure comprising: an inflatable tourniquet cuff for encircling a limb at a location and applying a cuff pressure to a limb of a patient; pressure sensing means for producing a cuff pressure signal indicative of a level of pressure in the cuff; pressure regulation means communicating with the cuff and responsive to the cuff pressure signal for regulating the pressure in the cuff near a reference pressure level; blood flow transducing means adapted for producing a blood flow signal indicative of blood flow past the cuff; physiologic characteristic sensing means for sensing a physiologic characteristic of the patient that is a measure of blood pressure; limb occlusion pressure means responsive to the blood flow signal and the cuff pressure signal and operable for producing a limb occlusion pressure value indicative of a lowest level of pressure in the cuff at which the blood flow is less than a minimum detection threshold and further operable for recording a first level of the physiologic characteristic corresponding to a time when the blood flow is less than the minimum detection threshold; and safety margin indicator means responsive to the reference pressure level for producing a safety margin value having a predetermined relationship to the reference pressure level, the limb occlusion pressure value, the recorded first level of the physiologic characteristic and to a second level of the physiologic characteristic.