Patent ID: 8721678

Claim:
A tourniquet cuff apparatus comprising: a cuff having an inflatable portion and a length sufficient to encircle a limb of a patient; the cuff including a port communicating pneumatically with the inflatable portion of the cuff, the port having a cuff connector; a tourniquet instrument connector mating with the cuff connector to define a connection passageway between the two connectors that communicates pneumatically with the inflatable portion of the cuff; a connection transducer mounted external to a remote tourniquet instrument and adjacent to the connection passageway and configured to sense the pressure in the connection passageway and to generate and wirelessly transmit a connection pressure signal representing the pressure within the inflatable portion of the cuff, wherein the connection transducer is mounted to the tourniquet instrument connector and movable therewith into and out of mating connection with the cuff connector; an interface for receiving the wirelessly transmitted connection pressure signal, wherein the interface is mounted to the tourniquet instrument connector; a continuous flexible tube extending from the tourniquet instrument connector to the tourniquet instrument to define therebetween a tube pneumatic passageway communicating pneumatically with the connection passageway; an internal transducer mounted internal to the tourniquet instrument and arranged for detecting the pressure in the tube pneumatic passageway and providing a second pressure signal representing the pressure in the connection passageway; a signal conducting member for conveying the connection pressure signal received by the interface to the remote tourniquet instrument, the signal conducting member is located outside of the flexible tube and has one end connected to the interface and an opposing end connected to the instrument; and a controller connected to the tourniquet instrument for receiving and comparing the connection pressure signal and the second pressure signal and for initiating a fault alert in instances when those two signals vary by more than a predetermined minimum.