Patent ID: 7771453

Claim:
A dual-port surgical tourniquet system having an occlusion detector, comprising: a tourniquet cuff for encircling a patient's limb and including an inflatable portion that communicates pneumatically with a first cuff port and that communicates pneumatically with a second cuff port independently of the first cuff port; a tourniquet instrument that is separately connectable to the first and second cuff ports to establish separate first and second pneumatic passageways between the tourniquet cuff and the tourniquet instrument, wherein the tourniquet instrument includes pressure sensing means for producing an indication of the pressure in the inflatable portion of the cuff, pressurizing means for pressurizing the cuff, pressure relief means for depressurizing the cuff, pressure regulation means responsive to the pressure sensing means for selectably activating the pressurizing means and the pressure relief means to regulate the pressure in the cuff near a reference pressure level during a time period suitably long for the performance of a surgical procedure; and an occlusion detector means for introducing a pressure pulse into the first passageway during an occlusion detection time period, and for directing the pressure pulse through the inflatable portion and into the second pneumatic passageway and for monitoring the pressure in the second passageway during the occlusion detection time period, and for producing an occlusion alarm if a fluctuation of pressure in the second passageway that is attributable to the pressure pulse is not detected within the occlusion detection time period.