Project Description: 

Tourniquets are thin, elastic bands that are tied as tightly as possible around a patient’s arm to restrict blood-flow. They are an important tool to use in the venipuncture process due to their ability to promote venous engorgement, making it easier for providers to locate and successfully cannulate a vein. The tourniquet should be applied at a pressure high enough to occlude the veins while leaving the arteries open, maximizing venous diameter and ease of cannulation. However, the elastic tourniquets commonly used today employ a standardized application procedure which fails to take into account the patient’s arm size or cardiovascular condition. There is no empirical method to determine if the applied pressure is sufficient to occlude the patient’s veins, arteries, or both. This is particularly problematic when the patient is overweight or obese, elderly, hypertensive, dehydrated, or emaciated. Furthermore, the elastic tourniquets used today are often painful for patients, increasing anxiety during a procedure which is already frightening. In the U.S. over 1 billion venipunctures are performed yearly to draw blood for diagnostic testing. Healthcare institutions in the US spend almost $182 million a year on these tourniquets, but over $196 million is wasted annually due to needles and syringes used up in failed venipuncture attempts. The Tournifit focuses on improving the existing tourniquet by utilizing our unique, experimentally verified marking system. Our team has created a product which is quick and easy to apply and can accurately maintain optimal pressure while maintaining the low cost, application speed and simplicity of the existing tourniquet. Health care professionals can breathe easy as they use an accurate but inexpensive device to improve the patient experience during a venipuncture.