3. www.pyng.com
Why Tourniquets?
• Severe limb trauma is a common cause of
moderate to severe extremity bleeding,
amputation and fatalities
• Tourniquet use controls life-threatening
hemorrhage from an extremity injury and
increases patient survival
• Tourniquets have been used in the military
and civilian pre-hospital care for thousands
of years to save lives and limbs
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Why Tourniquets?
• Every service member in the U.S. Military is
deployed with a tourniquet as part of their
first aid kit
• If applied correctly and efficiently,
tourniquets save lives with low incidence of
adverse side effects
• Methods to stop moderate to severe
bleeding such as pressure points and
dressing takes considerably longer and do
not ensure that blood loss is completely
stopped
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Why Tourniquets?
• Tourniquets provide EMS providers with an
effective tool for decreasing blood loss
when elevation and direct pressure fail
• Tourniquets offer EMS providers a quick and
effective solution to stop extremity
bleeding, allowing time to assess for other
injuries or treat other patients
• The use of tourniquets during man-made or
naturally caused mass casualty events
extends resources
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Why Tourniquets?
• A study at Boston Medical Center from
1999-2006 found that “…pre-hospital
tourniquets can be appropriately applied to
control life-threatening hemorrhage from
an extremity injury, and that their use is
not associated with neurovascular
complications.”
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Advantages of MATResponder
TM
• FAST: application and blood-flow occlusion
in under 30 seconds
• SAFE: compression can be applied in
small, controlled increments
• EASY TO USE: designed for all levels of
medical personnel and can be quickly
taught to non-medical personnel
• EFFECTIVE: provides 100% blood flow
occlusion (as measured by Doppler, BP and
Oximeter sensors)
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Advantages of MATResponder
TM
• EFFICIENT: can be applied with one hand
• MULTI-PURPOSE: the open C-Cuff design
allows MATResponderTM to be applied to
both arms and legs, including trapped limbs
• VERSATILE: can be used on limbs as
small as a 4” diameter forearm to a 39”
circumference thigh
• RAPID RELEASE: easy release and/or
re-application in 10 seconds or less
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Advantages of MATResponder
TM
• SECURE: Mechanical Advantage system
ensures that tourniquet does not slip or
loosen
• LIGHT-WEIGHT: weighs under 6 ounces
and comes in a compact package
• DURABLE: operates in extreme and
adverse conditions such as mud and grime
submersion, water submersion, sand
submersion, extreme cold, ice-encrustment
and hard surface (concrete) impact
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MATResponder
TM
Explained
• Open C-Cuff design provides easy
application to both arms and legs
• Buckle and Strap design provides fast,
trapped limb application
• Turn Key system provides easy and safe
tightening of the tourniquet in small,
controlled increments, making it adjustable
for various body types and sizes
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MATResponder
TM
Explained
• Turn Key Mechanical Advantage
Mechanism ensures no slipping or
loosening of the tourniquet
• Release Button, along with the buckle,
provide for fast loosening, releasing, and
re-application of the tourniquet
• EMS Safety Orange Color provides quick
visual confirmation that a tourniquet is in
place
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Application Procedure -
summary
1. Place
MATResponder
around limb above
the injury.
3. Pull the webbing
tight. It is important
to tightly pull the
webbing before
rotating the Turn
Key.
4. Rotate the Turn
Key to tighten.
5. Record date &
time.
6. Secure the loose
webbing before
transport.
2. Connect the
buckle.
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Application Procedure
1. PLACEMENT—Place the
MATResponder around the limb, 1”-2”
above the injury, or as high on the
limb as possible based on your training
and organization’s tourniquet
protocols. It is best to keep the hook
for the buckle oriented toward the
patient's midline.
2. PLACEMENT—There are two
techniques for applying the
MATResponder. They include (1) slipping
the tourniquet on over the injured limb
with the buckle already connected, or,
(2) positioning the chassis and then
wrapping the adjustment end of the
webbing around the injured limb, and
connecting the buckle to the hook on
the chassis.
Either is acceptable for PLACEMENT.
PLACEMENT—Above the bicep
The MATResponder is positioned
correctly, the buckle is connected
and you are ready to tighten.
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Application Procedure
3. PULL—Hold the chassis in one hand, and
with the other PULL the loose end of the
adjustment webbing until the tourniquet is
seated tightly against the patient's limb. You
should not be able to fit more than 1-2
fingers underneath the webbing at this
point. It is important to tightly pull the
webbing before rotating the Turn Key.
4. ROTATE—Begin slowly turning the Turn
Key clockwise to tighten the tourniquet.
Continue turning until bleeding stops, or
hemorrhage is controlled. The patented
mechanical application system on the
MATResponder allows for fine micro
adjustments in pressure, requiring minimal
user applied force by the Provider during
application. The Turn Key is easy to turn
even in one-handed applications with a
wounded hand.
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Application Procedure
5. RECORD—Flip the Turn Key down into
the “folded” position. Using the application
date & time tab affixed to the Turn Key,
annotate the time of the application using a
suitable writing instrument (sharpie or ink
pen).
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Application Procedure
6. SECURE—BEFORE TRANSPORT: After
you have stopped the bleeding, before you
transport the patient, you will need to
secure the loose end of the adjustment
webbing to prevent snags, entanglements
or any action that might cause the
tourniquet to become dislodged. Shown is
an option for accomplishing this.
Unsecured Webbing
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Adjustment/Removal Procedure
NOTE: ADJUSTMENT or REMOVAL—There may be occasion where the tourniquet
will require adjustment, or, removal. Following are the recommended steps for this
procedure.
7. ADJUSTMENT—After loosening the
adjustment webbing so that it is free
standing, flip up the Turn Key so that it can
rotate freely.
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Adjustment/Removal Procedure
8. PUSH BUCKLE—One way to release
pressure slowly, is to push the spring loaded
pressure gate on the buckle. Doing so will
allow the webbing to slowly slide through
the gate and will not cause a rapid release
of pressure, possibly causing a rebleed.
9. PUSH RELEASE BUTTON—You can also
push the RELEASE button, which is so
labeled on the tourniquet chassis.
Remember, when this button is depressed,
the Turn Key will rotate quickly
counterclockwise releasing all pressure. You
can control this release by gripping the Turn
Key and regulating the release speed.
Use other hand to
control speed of
Turn Key release
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Adjustment/Removal Procedure
10. UNHOOK BUCKLE—To remove or
effect the final release of the tourniquet,
you can unhook the buckle and remove the
MATResponder altogether.
NOTE: If the tourniquet is going to be
moved and reapplied on the same patient,
remember it must be placed in the READY
mode again. To do this, extend the buckle
to the far end of the adjustment webbing,
then push the RELEASE button, and while
grasping the near end of the webbing, pull
the webbing all the way out of the chassis
again. (See Instructions Slide 24)
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Re-applying MATResponder
TM
CLINICAL USE WARNING:
Re-use of MATResponderTM is not
recommended once it has been used on an
injured person, due to the potential of cross-
contamination. Serious injury or death may
result.
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Re-applying MATResponder
TM
TRAINING USE:
MATResponderTM can be used multiple
times for training purposes, as long as it is
properly RESET each time (see next slide).
WARNING:
If the MATResponderTM device is not
properly reset, there is a risk that the
Turn Key mechanism may bind or fail to
work properly.
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Resetting MATResponder
TM
A. While pushing the RED
RELEASE button, pull
webbing all the way out,
until you see the stitching
at the end of the
webbing.
B. Move the buckle to the
far end of the adjustment
webbing
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References
• Doyle, GS, Tailac, PP, Tourniquets: A review of Current
Use with Proposals for Expanded Prehospital Use.
Prehospital Emergency Care 2008, 12:2, 241-256
• Richey, SL, Tourniquets for the Control of Traumatic
Hemorrhage: A Review of the Literature, World Journal of
Surgery, 2007, 2:28
• Mabry, RL, Tourniquet Use on the Battlefield, Military
Medicine 2006; 171:352-356
• Kalish, J. Burke, P. Feldman, J. The Return of Tourniquets,
JEMS, AUG 2008, Vol. 33:8
• Army Medical Training Center Test 4/8/2005
• NEDU ONR/MARSYSCOM Test 6-8/2005
• NEDU ONR/MARSYSCOM Test 8-11/2006
• Navy Trauma Training Center Test 7-9/2005
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