Laryngoscope guide and related method of use

Abstract

A laryngoscope guide including a guide conduit for advancing an introducer. The guide can house an imaging system having a field of view and an optical axis. The guide can include a distal tip and a first blade plane that bisects the distal tip and/or the blade. The guide conduit can define an advancement axis projecting into the field of view, the advancement axis aligned to traverse and/or intersect at least one of the first blade plane and the optical axis. The orientation of the advancement axis relative to the first blade plane and/or optical axis can assist in viewing, aligning and optionally steering the introducer with the guide into a preselected location in a subject, such as a glottis or a trachea, to optionally establish an airway. The guide is suitable for use where neck mobility is an issue, an airway is difficult, or a subject is obese.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to medical devices, and more particularly, to a laryngoscope guide and related methods of use.[0002]Intubation is a medical procedure used by healthcare professionals to place an endotracheal tube in the trachea of a subject to facilitate breathing, or to permit controlled introduction of gases, such as oxygen or anesthetic gases, through the tube into the subject's airway. This medical procedure has evolved substantially over the years.[0003]An early but still accepted and used intubation procedure is a direct viewing method, in which a professional tilts a subject's head posteriorly, with the subject's neck extended, and peers through the oral cavity, generally down the throat toward the trachea. To assist in viewing, a laryngoscope including a simple handle attached to a blade, is inserted in the mouth with the blade trapping and moving the subject's tongue and / or epiglottis out of the line of sight. This method gener...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0025]The laryngoscope guide and related methods of use herein provide a simple and efficient way to treat subjects. Where the laryngoscope guide includes a guide conduit, a healthcare professional can quickly advance an introducer and precisely steer the distal end of the introducer toward a preselected location, such as a glottis, trachea, larynx or other opening. Where the conduit provides an advancement axis that is aligned to intersect a blade or tip bisecting plane, midline or an optical axis, the distal tip of the introducer can be clearly viewed in a field of view of an imaging system, which can further assist the healthcare professional in quickly placing the distal tip of the introducer in the preselected location.

[0026]Where the laryngoscope guide with guide conduit are used to place the introducer, an endotracheal or other tube can be quickly moved relative to the introducer, using the introducer as a guide for the tube, and inserted in a preselected location to provide the desired treatment to the subject. Although this is a significant divergence from current trends in the ar...

Problems solved by technology

Although this method serves its purpose, it can be difficult if not impossible to use on subjects who have abnormal airways, are obese, have undergone trauma requiring a cervical spine collar, have arthritis, have mandibular fractures, have had previous cervical fusion, or are combative.

Although these devices also serve a purpose, one issue is that the blade, fiberoptics, light source, stylet and endotracheal are all located in the subject simultaneously, which can prove problematic, particularly where the airway is restricted, where the airway has already experienced trauma, or where the subject is obese.

A potential issue with many video laryngoscopes is that they are designed to operate as a physically separate component from the endotracheal tube.

In some cases, while being blindly steered, the tube may steer in the wrong direction, may get hung up on tissue (particularly in obese subjects), or may unintentionally abrade or agitate tissue in the region where it is blindly steered.

Further, even after the end of the endotracheal tube comes into view of the camera so it can be viewed by the professional on the screen, the tube can be difficult, and in some cases impossible, to steer into the trachea, particularly in subjects having difficult anatomy, where the professional is inexperienced or where the professional is rushed to get an airway established due to the condition of the subject.

Even with the rigid rod in the tube, however, directing the endotracheal tube can be challenging and ti...

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