The development of equipment and testing procedure of mechanical tourniquets essential performance

The article is intended to describe the development of the equipment for mechanical tourniquets’ (MT) essential performance testing to improve their quality and usage safety. MT are medical purpose products, intended for prehospital care and to stop bleeding by unbroken ring fixation of the injured limb. It is determined that the efficiency of their use depends on MT essential performance, to which shut-off pressure and loss of pressure belong. The analysis of 4 MT essential performance estimate is performed. The disadvantages of each considered method are determined. The absence of standardized methods for estimating the essential performance and the absence of documents, which establish MT characteristics requirements, are described. The specification for the MT efficiency standard and requirements for testing is considered. The design of the testing set for shut-off pressure and pressure loss measurements is developed. The procedure for the MT essential performance testing is presented. The results of the testing according to the developed procedure are presented. The directions of further research using the developed testing set and the obtained research results are mentioned.