Business
Tourniquet designed for fingers and toes
■ An emergency physician saw a need and developed a product to fill it.
By Karen Caffarini — Posted Nov. 24, 2008
Making sidelines pay
Doctors who branched out beyond running their practice tell why they did it, how they did it, and what you should know before you do it.
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Name: William Green, MD
Specialty: Emergency physician
Location: Newport Beach, Calif.
Company: Precision Medical Devices, LLC. It makes the T-Ring, a thin, flexible disc surrounded by a hardened outer plastic ring that acts as a tourniquet for digital injuries, both fingers and toes pmedcorp.com/.
Intended for use by emergency physicians, hand surgeons and dermatologists, the T-Ring was a 2008 finalist in Business Week's annual International Design Excellence Awards competition.
Annual revenue: None yet. First shipments will be available in February or March 2009. T-Rings come in either adult or pediatric sizes and will cost about $10 each.
Why he started the business: "I was amazed at how many articles written about digital tourniquets contained the warning not to forget the tourniquet." Brightly colored and the size of a poker chip, Dr. Green's device is visible enough not to be forgotten. He said another advantage to his T-Ring is the pressure is the same for everyone, no matter how small or large the digit is.
"If we can truly stop the bleeding, the patient can walk out with just small adhesive strips on their wounds instead of stitches," he said.
Dr. Green partnered with a childhood friend, Ted Brackett, to invent the device.
Why he continues to practice: "I truly love clinical emergency medicine. I went into this field because I love the challenge and it is still very rewarding."
Words of wisdom: "Find an area of need, and focus on how you will make it better."
