Patent ID: 8758390

Claim:
A tourniquet effector for applying pressure to a body through which arterial blood flows, comprising: an effector having a back face and a front face that includes at least two pressure sensors; a fixture structure for supporting the effector adjacent to a surface on the body; an actuator attached between effector back face and the fixture structure, the actuator being movable and controllable for advancing the effector to press the effector front face against a contact area on the body surface at a particular orientation of the front face relative to the contact area; wherein the pressure sensors produce a pressure signal indicative of the pressure applied by the front face to the contact area; and a controller for controlling the actuator, the controller being in communication with the pressure sensors for receiving the pressure signal, the controller operable for estimating and indicating a pressure gradient in the body that is produced by the front face of the effector when pressed against the contact area of the body surface, whereby the pressure gradient is a rate of change of pressure across a distance in the body.