Tourniquet uniforms to give frontline first aid a boost

Published on Friday 15 May 2009 22:05

A REVOLUTIONARY new uniform fitted with in-built tourniquets that could save lives and limbs is being tested by the Ministry of Defence.

Frontline soldiers already carry at least one tourniquet in their first aid kit, but medics fear troops are dying because it takes too long to get them on in an emergency.

Hi-tech body armour protects soldiers' chests, but legs and arms are vulnerable to what army doctors call "catastrophic bleeds" – when bullets or shrapnel sever major arteries.

Such a wound can cause the victims to become unconscious in less than two minutes. Death from blood loss can follow seconds after that.

Therefore trousers and jackets with in-built tourniquets may be particularly useful for those trapped inside vehicles and out of the reach of easy aid.

Though the US army is already using the new uniforms – invented by an American surgeon and produced by US firm BlackHawk! – the British Army is still testing the kit.

The uniforms have eight in-built tourniquets, two in each jacket arm and trouser leg.

Terry Naughton, vice-president of marketing of Blackhawk!, said: "Having multiple tourniquets is the correct course of action in combat situations where there are improvised explosive devices. If there are multiple wounds, applying a tourniquet (to just one] will cause the other wounds to bleed more."

Coming across a trapped and wounded soldier in a vehicle hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in northeastern Afghanistan in early 2006 spurred Dr Keith Rose to develop the system.

US navy Seals are already wearing the uniforms, and some contractors working for security firms in Afghanistan and Iraq wear a version of the trousers.