Internal Tourniquet Provides Deep Wound Hemorrhage Control

An innovative device that is inserted into a bullet wound and then inflated to apply pressure directly along the bullet's path helps control blood loss.

The TourniCath device is a balloon tamponade designed to control exsanguinating hemorrhage that is not manageable by conventional external means such as direct pressure, clotting agents, bandages, and tourniquets. The device works by internal wound track compression using a cylindrical, doubled walled, inflatable balloon. The balloon is made of two wall layers of material: the outer wall is nylon coated on the inside with polyurethane; the inner wall is a layer of soft polyurethane. The design makes the balloon resistant to punctures from sharp objects, like shrapnel, that might be inside the wound, and also helps the balloon to conform to the shape of the wound and compress it.


Designed for wounds that produce profuse hemorrhage due to a deep penetrating trauma in the groin, pelvis, shoulder, or axilla areas, the TourniCath has a smooth rounded tip and a smooth outer sheath covering the rolled balloon. Once inserted into the wound track--through either the entry or the exit wounds-and the outer sheath removed, the balloon is then inflated to a pressure sufficient to tamponade internal bleeding (usually 90 mmHg to 150 mmHg). The maximum potential inflation volume of the cylindrical balloon is 400 mL, and the dimensions at maximum volume are 20 cm in length and 5 cm in diameter. The TourniCath is under development by CardioCommand (Tampa, FL, USA), and is not indicated for abdominal or thoracic wounds. The Tournicath Device is not currently approved by the US. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is therefore not available for sale in the United States.

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