Patent ID: 8137378
Filing Date: 2012-03-20
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. Low-cost disposable tourniquet cuff apparatus for encircling a patient's limb at a desired location on the limb to stop blood flow past the cuff, comprising: a first sheet formed of flexible material that is impermeable to gas; a second sheet formed of flexible material that is impermeable to gas and that is positioned facing the first sheet; a gas-tight seal joining the first sheet directly to the second sheet around a perimeter to form an inflatable bladder within the perimeter, wherein the bladder has a bladder width dimension, and a bladder length; securing means adapted to allow surgical staff to secure the cuff apparatus around the limb at a desired location on the limb so that the bladder overlaps upon itself; port means communicating with the bladder and releasably connectable to a tourniquet instrument for establishing a pneumatic passageway for pressurized gas between the bladder and the tourniquet instrument; a stiffener layer attached to the first sheet and sized to extend substantially the length of the bladder but not the entire bladder length, so that the entire stiffener layer is surrounded by the perimeter seal, thereby completely enclosing the stiffener layer inside of the bladder perimeter, the stiffener layer being formed of material that is less flexible than the first sheet; and a coating layer disposed within the bladder on one side of the stiffener layer, wherein only one of the coating layer and the stiffener layer is formed of thermoplastic material that is compatible with the material of the first sheet for welding to the first sheet, and the other one of the coating layer and the stiffener layer is formed of material that is incompatible with the material of the first sheet for welding thereto.