An Age-Old Medical Tool Gets A Life-Saving Redesign

The SAM Tourniquet, designed by Ziba, rethinks the ancient piece of medical equipment.

The tourniquet--the last-resort device used to temper the blood flow to an injury--is almost as old as warfare itself. The Romans reportedly used straps of bronze and leather to slow down bleeding, most often during the amputation of a limb. The early appliances used by Romans have seen surprisingly few design updates (perhaps partly due to a sullied reputation around the time of World War II, when tourniquets were blamed for causing amputations rather than saving lives). So last year, the Portland, Oregon-based design firm Ziba worked with SAM Medical equipment to update the tourniquet.

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