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TST - Smart Tourniquet

TST are Smart Tourniquets that simplify the application of tourniquets that integrate with multiple sensors to track the patient's health status and transfer to EMS for future treatments.

  • Prototype of TST Tourniquet

  • Application of TST Tourniquet Prototypes with one hand.

  • The built-in time tracker reduces the risk of excessive blood loss due to improper use.

  • The ‘E-Ink Display’ provides longer operating time and remains readable in any lighting conditions.

  • ‘Flexible Pressure Sensor’ and ‘mmWave Radar Sensor’ continuously monitor the user’s health data.

What it does

TST Tourniquets help apply Tourniquets with enough pressure while reducing the application time. By tracking the application time, monitoring the user's health status, and transferring data to EMS to increase the survival rates from the combat situations.


Your inspiration

Based on my Military experience in the South Korean Army, I have faced several cases that required the use of Tourniquets; however, even with the people who practiced, they failed with proper application during combat situations due to stress. Not enough pressure was applied with the tourniquet, which led to blood loss. Forget to document the application time with a pen. Skip organizing the leftover straps to prevent the application from loosening. These are the most common mistakes with the Tourniquete application. I was driven to develop solutions to prevent those mistakes in real situations.


How it works

TST Tourniquets are integrated with auto-tightening to help the application with enough pressure while reducing the application time. Once it is applied, the application's built-in time tracker will reduce the risk of excessive blood loss, monitor the user's health status with two different sensors, notify users when more pressure is required, and transfer data to EMS for future treatments from hostile situations.


Design process

Start by testing the multiple tourniquets, which have been approved by TCCC for use by the US military and Police departments, to determine the application's pros and cons. Then, interview combat medical specialists from both the police and the military to assess the importance of tourniquets and identify factors that need improvement. Based on the data, I have developed several working mock-ups to test the features. These working mock-ups were crucial in the design process, as they showed me the possibilities of the simple tourniquet application and highlighted features that could be revised for final direction. Lastly, research for the features and technologies that could be applied to the design, such as 'mmWave Rade', 'Flexible Pressure Sensor' for tracking users' health conditions; Iot Module and GPS for transferring the data to EMS; and 'E-Ink Display' for readable in any light source with longer operation time. Through these design processes, I developed the final design and prototypes to illustrate the potential direction for tourniquets using a 3D model in SolidWorks and resin printing, both of which are simple and effective in stopping blood loss and facilitating future procedures.


How it is different

TST could save time and simplify the process by having the auto-tightening features before manual tightening and keeping track of the application time to reduce the risk of excessive blood loss with a built-in time tracker. Not only does it stop blood loss, but it also integrates with various sensors to monitor the health conditions of users, including an 'mmWave reader sensor', ' flexible Pressure sensors', an IoT module, and GPS, to track the user's health conditions and transfer the data to EMS.


Future plans

Planning to learn circuit board wiring to make fully functional prototypes to show the possibilities. Additionally, I plan to design other First Aid kit series to increase survival rates and simplify the procedure.


Awards


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