Alphapointe wins patent for new tourniquet design

Kansas City-based nonprofit Alphapointe — one of the largest employers of the blind in the U.S. — received the first patent for its Tactical Mechanical Tourniquet (TMT). Alphapointe developed the TMT in conjunction with the military, using lessons learned on the battlefield to eliminate the "percentage of failure" rates experienced from the current tourniquet issued to troops. The new tourniquet uses a ratcheting device that allows it to be put on with only one hand, giving it a design that…