Surgeon's invention goes on show in Geneva

Dr Stratos Sofos developed the idea after losing his pen torch

A hospital tourniquet has been developed to include a pen torch, after a surgeon had trouble finding one while doing his ward rounds.

Dr Stratos Sofos, from Rhyl, Denbighshire invented the Tourniquet-Torch while visiting his patients at Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool.

Torches are used by doctors on hospital wards to examine patients' eyes, mouth and ears.

The device will now be promoted at the Inventions Show in Geneva.

The surgeon hopes that by combining the two pieces of equipment, doctors will have easier access to a light source while examining patients.

The device can be sterilised and applied to any tourniquet, including those used by the military in field hospitals.

"The majority of doctors carry tourniquets so I thought it would be a good idea to build a torch into the tourniquet clip which has enough space to hold a battery," Dr Sofos said.

"I checked on the internet and found there was nothing like this and decided to develop the idea."

With help from the assembly government, Dr Sofos developed a prototype of the design and has applied for a UK patent to allow him to have exclusive rights to the invention.

Although the surgeon said he does not have the time to take the product further, he is interested in finding potential licence distributors.

Dr Sofos's device will now be shown in Geneva, Switzerland, where it will be one of the Welsh inventions on display at the International Inventions Show which starts on Wednesday and ends on Sunday.