Development of tourniquet system for military use

The extremity injuries in the battlefield may result as serious number of deaths, unless it is prohibited. Tourniquet application is important and indispensable to prevent loss of lives caused by extremity injuries (bleedings). Tourniquet is a medical device having a tape, with a width of 4-7 cm, attached to the corresponding injured extremity and in this way it can stop bleeding. Despite being an elementary procedure, proper and successful applications can severely decrease loss of lives. Combat Application Tourniquet (CAT) and Special Operations Forces Tactical Tourniquet (SOFTT) are available in many NATO member national military for the use in battlefield. None of the available systems designed for military applications, can be used by single hand. The developed tourniquet system in the content of this thesis study, applies the required force to stop the bleeding, by wrapping the tape around the extremity which is also connected to electromechanical system of the tourniquet. After the device is started by the on/off button, it applies the tourniquet procedure up to the pre-defined threshold value, according to the force sensor feedback followed by the user choice of leg / arm application region. At the instant that the threshold value is reached, system will continue on standby contracted mode since bleeding is stopped. 1 hour later, tourniquet loosens the extremity automatically to prevent necrosis and it recontracts again after a 5 minute wait. When system is turned on, tourniquet application duration and applied force information are transmitted to the base via bluetooth based military communication standards. The developed smart system will continuously apply the procedure until it is turned off or runs out of battery. The contribution of this system, which transmits the tourniquet application data to the base, is to keep not only military but also internal security and police department staff alive who are on duty in hot zones.