Innovative Tourniquet Helps Save Lives
04-18-2016
Dr. Stephen “Brock” Blankenship, a former Special Operations Force (SOF) Operator/Medic, taught combat life saver/combat casualty care and knew from firsthand experience that the tourniquets being used were less intuitive and not multi-functional. Tourniquets are used to stop blood flow and in emergency situations the ability to stop blood flow can be the difference between life and death.
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He sought to create a device that both medical and non-medical personnel could easily carry and use to prevent loss of limbs and help save lives. He wanted it to be simple enough that anyone could apply it in seconds with little or no prior training. So, he developed the SWAT-T™ to function as a multi-purpose trauma care device – a tourniquet, a pressure dressing, and an elastic bandage. The SWAT-T, Stretch-Wrap-And-Tuck Tourniquet, has printing on the tourniquet that helps guide the user so they know unerringly when to tighten or loosen the strap. |
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Now that Brock had his design, all he needed was a material that could satisfy the property requirements. Because it would be stretched to various lengths, the material would need to be tear resistant and rather stretchy but very thin, like a sheet. Additionally, it needed to be a material that he could print on, as this was the basis of his design. Naturally, he thought of rubber sheeting as a solution but there was a small chance that the person could be allergic to latex proteins. So, he now knew he needed a synthetic version of natural rubber sheeting to help bring his design to fruition. |
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Brock set out to find a manufacturer of synthetic rubber sheeting and eventually found The Hygenic Corporation, a custom manufacturer of HYSYNAL® Synthetic Polyisoprene sheeting. HYSYNAL sheeting had all of the physical properties of natural rubber, such as good elongation and recovery, excellent tear resistance and it was protein free. The proprietary formula also produced tourniquets that had a unique slip-resistant texture and could perform well in low temperatures. |
| He worked with Hygenic to produce two different colors of the SWAT-T – rescue orange for EMS and first responders and black for SWAT forces, police and military. Since the product has been released to the market it has helped save numerous lives in a variety of situations and these success stories are the reason why he works so hard promoting this product. |
(Images source: www.swattourniquet.com) |
| The SWAT-T also works great on children and pets, too. Read some of the success stories and learn more about the SWAT-T by visiting their website: http://www.swattourniquet.com |
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