Patent ID: 8048105

Claim:
An adaptive surgical tourniquet, comprising: an inflatable cuff for encircling a limb of a patient; pressurizing means for pressurizing the cuff; pressure relief means for depressurizing the cuff; cuff pressure sensing means for sensing cuff pressure; limb occlusion pressure sensing means for sensing the patient's initial limb occlusion pressure at a selected time; physiologic characteristic sensing means for sensing blood pressure of the patient; and pressure regulator means operable after the initial limb occlusion pressure is sensed for selectably activating the pressurizing means and the pressure relief means to maintain the cuff pressure above an adapted limb occlusion pressure for a time period suitably long for the performance of a surgical procedure; wherein the physiologic characteristic sensing means further senses a second physiologic characteristic of the patient, and wherein the pressure regulator means further establishes the adapted limb occlusion pressure to be a predetermined function of the initial limb occlusion pressure, the blood pressure and the second physiologic characteristic.