LOW COST TOURNIQUET CUFF WITH IDENTIFICATION APPARATUS

摘要

A low cost tourniquet cuff with identification apparatus comprises: an outer strip; an inner strip positioned against the outer strip; a gas-tight seal joining the inner strip to the outer strip to form a cuff having a physical characteristic wherein the cuff includes an inflatable bladder of a predetermined length greater than the circumference of a limb at a selected location; and a cuff connector carried on the cuff and communicating pneumatically with the bladder for releasably connecting to a tourniquet instrument to establish a gas-tight passageway between the bladder and the instrument, wherein the cuff connector includes identification means indicative of the physical characteristic and detectable by the tourniquet instrument upon establishment of the gas-tight passageway. The bladder may be formed by first joining an outer strip having varying thickness to an inner strip along the sides of the outer strip and then further joining the outer and inner strips together with gas-tight seals spaced apart by the predetermined length.