Pants with Integrated Tourniquet

While it's not actually being used in any military clothing yet, it's not difficult to see how the Blackhawk Integrated Tourniquet System (I.T.S.) could find its way into the pants of our fighting men and women. To staunch the flow of blood from a wound, a person would yank the integrated cords positioned over the arteries. There will also be shirts available when the I.T.S. line launches in '08.

Of course, extra weight is the enemy of the infantryman. I wonder if soldiers would feel the extra gear is worth it?

Integrated tourniquet clothing system aims to save lives on the battlefield [Gizmag]

[#1 posted by mullingitover , September 7, 2007 4:59 PM]

You know you've made a poor choice in life when you find yourself wearing pants with built-in tourniquets.

[#2 posted by reykjavik2006 , September 8, 2007 6:32 PM]

This is not only for battle wounds. This could be used to alleviate symptoms/imminent death from accute altitude sickness. What you do is alternate limbs every couple of minutes to block the blood flow thus guaranteeing more blood and oxygen to the organs that need it most (heart, brain, lungs etc...).

[#3 posted by Anonymous , September 10, 2007 3:35 AM]

I'm no expert, but shouldn't tourniquets be applied by qualified personnel, and only after applying pressure to the wound doesn't help?
They would have to ship a manual with the pants o.O

[#4 posted by Tubman , September 10, 2007 4:48 AM]

@#3: Tourniquets are applied by qualified personnel - all soldiers learn first aid as part of their training. The application of pressure and trauma dressings is standard practice in a civilian setting because you're usually only a few minutes from a trauma center. In combat, however, you're less likely to have the time to do that, and far less likely to be minutes away from an ER.

The US Army recently updated the contents of their first aid kits to include a tourniquet similar to the ones used in these pants (the previous version required you to find a stick to tighten it, which, needless to say, can be a little tricky in a desert), as well as giving greater prominence to the use of tourniquets in first aid training.

My guess is the manufacturers will have a pretty easy sale if these pants actually work.