Disposable digital tourniquets and related methods of providing occlusion pressures to a single digit during surgical procedures

Abstract

A single-use disposable digital tourniquet includes a generally rigid support body comprising first and second spaced apart cuff channels sized and configured to receive a cuff therethrough.

1 . A single-use disposable medical digital tourniquet, comprising:
 a non-inflatable planar cuff having a length with opposing first and second end portions;   a rod extending across one end portion of the planar cuff; and   a block body sized and configured to hold a digit against a concave upper or lower surface thereof, the block body comprising first and second closely spaced apart cuff through channels sized and configured to receive the cuff therethrough,   wherein the first channel comprises at least one blocking member extending laterally across at least a portion thereof,   wherein the first channel further comprises a pair of laterally spaced apart first and second cuff retaining shoulders that face each other and reside proximate to but below or above the at least one blocking member,   wherein, in use, the rod and corresponding end portion of the cuff are first held in the first channel by the at least one blocking member at a first position and/or orientation under the upper surface of the block body until a defined force associated with a safe occlusive pressure of between about 225 mm Hg and 375 mm Hg is exerted on arteries in opposing sides of a target digit, then the at least one blocking member yields, separates or breaks to allow the rod to automatically translate to a second position or orientation under the upper surface of the block body whereby the tourniquet mechanically generates an audible and/or tactile feedback to a user that a safe tourniquet pressure has been reached to thereby inhibit an unsafe occlusive pressure.   
   
   
       2 . The digit tourniquet of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one blocking member comprises a deformable projection arm that extends across a minor portion of one side of the first channel, and wherein the rod is held in the channel at an angle against the deformable projection arm and one of the first or second cuff retaining shoulders until the defined force is reached and the deformable projection arm yields to allow the one end portion of the rod to translate a further distance into the first channel to reside against the second cuff retaining shoulder. 
   
   
       3 . The digit tourniquet of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one blocking member comprises a pair of aligned spaced apart projections that cooperate to hold the rod at the first position in the first channel, then when the defined tension is reached, the rod pushes the spaced apart projects further apart to move down or up to reside against the retaining shoulders. 
   
   
       4 . The digit tourniquet of  claim 1 , wherein the block body is a single-piece molded block body which comprises a polymer material. 
   
   
       5 . The digit tourniquet of  claim 1 , further comprising a pivoting clamp attached to the block body with an outwardly extending lever arm that is configured to allow a user to pivot the clamp to close against an inner surface of the second channel to trap a portion of the cuff between the clamp and the inner surface of the second channel to hold the cuff at a desired tension and allow the user to pivot the clamp in a reverse direction to release the cuff. 
   
   
       6 . The digit tourniquet of  claim 1 , wherein longitudinally extending centerlines of the first and second channels reside between about 1-20 mm apart, and wherein the cuff has a width of between about 8-15 mm. 
   
   
       7 . The digit tourniquet of  claim 1 , wherein the concave surface comprises a shallow concave profile with a depth of less than about 5 mm, and wherein the concave surface has first and second apertures that align with first and second channels and a medial closed outer surface portion that resides between and separates the first and second cuff apertures. 
   
   
       8 . The digit tourniquet of  claim 1 , wherein the digit tourniquet is sterile for surgical use. 
   
   
       9 . A digit tourniquet comprising:
 a substantially rigid block support body comprising first and second spaced apart cuff channels that are closely spaced and extend substantially side-by-side in a depth dimension of the support body, wherein the block support body comprises a first digit support surface with first and second cuff apertures spaced apart in a sagittal direction, the first cuff aperture aligned with and merging into the first cuff channel and the second cuff aperture aligned with and merging into the second cuff channel, the digit support surface being concave relative to the block body, wherein, in position, the block support body contacts a target digit with the depth dimension being substantially orthogonal to both sagittal and axial directions of the target digit, and wherein the block support body digit contact surface is sized and configured to hold at least a major portion of a width of a target digit thereagainst;   a planar non-inflatable elastomeric cuff having a length with opposing end portions, wherein the cuff is slidably insertable through the first and second apertures into the respective first and second channels of the support body so as to extend substantially vertically through the first channel away from the first surface and substantially vertically in a single direction through the second channel away from the first surface to provide the cuff with two substantially vertically extending portions and an intermediate curvilinear portion that extends outward from the support body first surface to receive a digit through the curvilinear portion; and   a rod extending laterally across a portion of the cuff,   wherein the block support body first channel comprises at least one blocking member extending laterally across at least a portion thereof and a pair of laterally spaced apart first and second cuff retaining shoulders that face each other and reside proximate to but below or above the at least one blocking member,   wherein, in use, the rod is first held in the first channel by the at least one blocking member at a first position or orientation under the upper surface of the block body until a defined force associated with a safe occlusive pressure of between about 225 mm Hg and 375 mm Hg is exerted on the digit, then the at least one blocking member yields, separates or breaks to allow the rod to automatically translate to a second position or orientation under the upper surface of the block body and the blocking member generates an audible sound and/or tactile feedback to a user in response to the blocking member action and/or movement of the rod to the second position that indicates that a safe tourniquet pressure has been reached to thereby inhibit an unsafe occlusive pressure, and   wherein the second channel includes a pivoting clamp with a user-accessible lever, the clamp attached to the support body proximate the opposing outer surface of the block body, the lever configured to allow a user to pivot the clamp to close against an inner surface of the second channel to contact the cuff and trap the cuff between the clamp and the inner surface of the second channel and pivot the clamp in a reverse direction to release the cuff.   
   
   
       10 . The digit tourniquet of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one blocking member comprises a deformable projection arm that extends across a minor portion of one side of the first channel, and wherein the rod is held in the channel at an angle against the deformable projection arm and one of the first or second cuff retaining shoulders until the defined force is reached and the deformable projection arm yields to allow the one end portion of the rod to translate a further distance into the first channel to reside against the second cuff retaining shoulder. 
   
   
       11 . The digit tourniquet of  claim 9 , wherein the at least one blocking member comprises a pair of aligned spaced apart projections that cooperate to hold the rod at the first position in the first channel, then when the defined tension is reached, the rod pushes the spaced apart projects further apart to move down or up to reside against the retaining shoulders. 
   
   
       12 . The digit tourniquet of  claim 9 , wherein centerlines of the first and second channels and corresponding apertures reside between about 1-20 mm apart, and wherein the cuff has a width of between about 8-15 mm. 
   
   
       13 . The digit tourniquet of  claim 9 , wherein the concave surface comprises a shallow concave profile with a depth of less than about 5 mm with a medial closed outer surface portion that separates the first and second cuff apertures and channels. 
   
   
       14 . The digit tourniquet of  claim 9 , wherein the tourniquet is held in a sterile package for surgical use. 
   
   
       15 . A method of applying safe occlusion pressure to a digit during a surgical procedure, comprising:
 providing a block support body having a digit contact surface and an opposing outer surface, the digit contact surface configured to span at least a major portion of a width of a target digit, the block body also having first and second substantially parallel spaced apart cuff channels extending substantially vertically therethrough and a cooperating substantially planar non-inflatable elastomeric non-inflatable cuff that extends through the first and second channels and out of apertures in the digit contact surface to define an outwardly extending loop, the cuff having a length with opposing first and second end portions with the first end portion attached to a laterally extending rod;   placing a digit of interest on the digit contact surface of the support body inside the loop of the cuff;   holding the rod and first end portion of the cuff at a first location in the first channel so that the rod engages a blocking member;   pulling the second end portion of the elastomeric cuff to tighten the cuff snugly about at least a major portion of the digit to force the digit against the support body;   forcing the rod to travel past the at least one blocking member in the first channel in response to the pulling step when a safe occlusive pressure is reached;   pivoting a clamp against a portion of the cuff in the second channel to clamp the cuff against an inner surface of the second cuff channel proximate the opposing outer surface of the block body to hold the safe occlusion pressure against arteries in the digit of interest; and   automatically providing tactile and/or audible feedback to a user in response to the forcing step when the desired safe occlusion pressure is achieved.   
   
   
       16 . A single-use disposable medical digital tourniquet, comprising:
 a substantially rigid block support body defining a curved digit contact outer surface and an opposing outer surface, the curved digit contact surface being concave relative to the block body, wherein the digit contact surface having first and second channel apertures, the digit contact surface being sized and configured to hold a target digit thereagainst; and   a non-inflatable planar elastic cuff;   wherein the support body and digit contact surface span at least a major portion of a width of a target digit, the support body comprising first and second spaced apart cuff channels sized and configured to receive a cuff therethrough, wherein the first and second cuff channels extend substantially side-by-side in a depth direction of the support body between the digit contact surface and the opposing outer surface such that, in position, the cuff extends out of the first and second channels of the block body from the first and second channel apertures in the digit contact surface, wherein the block body and cuff cooperate to provide safe occlusive pressures to both sides of the target digit, wherein, in position, the depth direction is substantially orthogonal to both sagittal and axial directions of a target digit held against the digit contact surface of the support body.   
   
   
       17 . A digital tourniquet according to  claim 16 , wherein the first and second cuff channels and corresponding first and second channel apertures are closely spaced in a width dimension corresponding to the sagittal direction with axially extending centerlines of the first and second cuff channels residing between about 1-20 mm apart in the width dimension of the support body and with the channels extending a distance in the axial direction to receive a cuff having a width of between about 8-15 mm, wherein the curved digit contact surface has a substantially concave shallow profile, and wherein the cuff extends in a single direction through at least one of the first and second cuff channels such that only one end of the cuff resides below the opposing outer surface of the block body away from the digit contact surface whereby the cuff and the block body cooperate to apply the safe occlusive pressure to arteries in opposing sides of a target digit. 
   
   
       18 . A digital tourniquet according to  claim 16 , wherein the first and second cuff channels extend substantially parallel for at least a major length of the channels, the support body further comprising an anchoring member configured to hold a first end portion of a cuff in the support body first channel and a pivoting clamping member configured to pivot laterally between open and closed positions and to allow a user to manually pivot the clamping member to clamp the cuff against an inner wall of the second channel at a location that is away from the digit support surface proximate the opposing outer surface of the block body, wherein, in operation, the anchoring and clamping members cooperate with the support body to provide the cuff with a nearly closed loop figure at a desired tension over a target digit held on the support body.