Ridged Strap Tourniquet with Self-Locking Windlass
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tourniquets require prior training for proper application and take at least five minutes to apply, which is inadequate for immediate and intuitive use by non-medical personnel in emergency situations such as mass shootings or terrorist attacks, where rapid blood flow occlusion is critical.
Innovation Solution
A tourniquet design featuring a flexible strap with ridges and teeth for easy threading and locking, a release lever for controlled tension adjustment, and optional integrated sensors and devices like GPS, pressure sensors, and timers, allowing quick and intuitive application by laypersons, with a windlass tension mechanism to prevent loosening and audible feedback for proper use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional tourniquet designs are used, then reliable blood flow occlusion is achieved, but application time increases to at least five minutes and requires prior training
Solution Approach 1:
The tourniquet is designed with self-aligning features where the strap automatically positions itself through the buckle mechanism, and the windlass automatically engages with the strap's ridges. This self-service design eliminates the need for complex manual positioning and reduces application time while maintaining reliable occlusion.
Solution Approach 2:
The tourniquet components are pre-configured with the strap already threaded through the buckle in its operational position, and the windlass is pre-positioned to engage with the strap. This preliminary preparation allows the user to simply pull and tighten without complex assembly steps, reducing application time from minutes to seconds.
2Force
If traditional tourniquet designs are used, then sufficient tension is applied to stop bleeding, but the device complexity increases requiring trained personnel
Solution Approach 1:
The complex multi-component locking mechanisms and adjustment systems found in traditional tourniquets are removed. The design extracts only the essential elements: a strap with ridges, a simple buckle, and a windlass that automatically engages. This simplification reduces device complexity while maintaining sufficient tension through the straightforward pull-and-tighten action.
Solution Approach 2:
The windlass mechanism automatically engages with the ridged strap and provides self-locking functionality without requiring complex adjustments or trained operations. The strap's ridges automatically guide the windlass engagement, and the system self-regulates tension, eliminating the need for complex control mechanisms.
3Loss of time
If quick-application tourniquets are designed, then application time is reduced to seconds, but reliability of blood flow occlusion may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The automatic engagement features ensure that even with quick application, the tourniquet achieves proper positioning and sufficient tension. The windlass automatically engages with the ridged strap and the buckle self-aligns, eliminating positioning errors that could compromise occlusion effectiveness while maintaining rapid application.
Solution Approach 2:
The ridged strap design provides tactile feedback to the user during application, allowing them to feel when the tourniquet is properly positioned and when sufficient tension has been achieved. This immediate feedback ensures reliable occlusion without requiring complex sensors or extended application time.
4Loss of information
If integrated sensors and devices are added to tourniquet, then monitoring capabilities are improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tourniquet is designed as a universal platform that can function with or without integrated sensors. The basic mechanical components serve multiple purposes: the strap provides both mechanical tension and a mounting surface for sensors, the buckle provides both locking and sensor attachment points. This multi-functionality allows the same device structure to support monitoring capabilities without requiring separate dedicated components.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor integration is merged with the existing mechanical components rather than being separate add-ons. Pressure sensors are integrated into the buckle mechanism, and the windlass structure incorporates mounting points for monitoring devices. This merging reduces overall device complexity compared to having separate monitoring systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A tourniquet includes a strap formed of a flexible material and shaped as a long, thin and generally flat body having a first surface and an opposed second surface, and an array of ridges extending transversely, substantially along most of the first surface. The tourniquet head includes an insertion mouth and within the mouth a flexible support and a plurality of teeth formed on the flexible support. The flexible support and the plurality of teeth providing an insertion channel in the tourniquet head for tightly receiving a free insertion end of the strap in a manner that enables the strap to be threaded through the insertion mouth with the plurality of teeth in the head being lockable on the ridges on the strap in a manner that enables a leading end of said strap to be ratcheted through the mouth in a locking direction only. A release lever enables the flexible support in the mouth to be pulled away from the ridges on the strap to allow for temporary disengaging of the teeth in the head from the ridges on the strap, to enable gradual and controlled releasing of tourniquet tension being applied on a body part to which the tourniquet has been mounted.