Patent ID: 7780698

Claim:
A low-cost disposable tourniquet cuff having improved safety, comprising: a first sheet formed of flexible material and having an inner surface that is impermeable to gas; a second sheet facing the first sheet and formed of flexible material and having an inner surface that is impermeable to gas and is facing the inner surface of the first sheet; a bladder seal joining the inner surface of the first sheet directly to the inner surface of the second sheet around a perimeter to form an inflatable bladder within the perimeter, wherein the bladder has a first end and an opposing overlapping end defining between those ends a length of the bladder; 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; stiffener means including a stiffener contained within the inflatable bladder and formed of gas-impermeable material less flexible than the first sheet, wherein the stiffener has a length that extends substantially the length of the bladder but less than the length of the bladder, the stiffener being joined to the first sheet to form a non-inflatable portion of the first sheet; securing means attached to the non-inflatable portion of the first sheet and adapted to allow a surgical user to releasably secure the cuff around the limb at a desired location with the overlapping end overlapping the first end; and secondary securing means including a fastener attached to the second sheet near the overlapping end but spaced therefrom by a distance predetermined to allow the surgical user to releasably secure the fastener to the first sheet only if the cuff overlaps upon itself by at least a predetermined minimum cuff overlap length at the desired limb location.