Adjustable Airway Stabilization System for Pediatric Patients
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current airway stabilization systems fail to effectively prevent clinically significant movement of airway devices in response to multidirectional forces, leading to unintentional extubation, which is a costly and life-threatening issue, especially in pediatric patients and animals, due to inadequate resistance against forces such as bending, torsional, or rotational movements.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable airway stabilization system with a clamshell-type clamping member and carriage mechanism that securely engages the airway device, providing adjustable positioning and locking mechanisms to resist movement, including a ratchet mechanism for varying tube sizes and a quick-release actuator for easy adjustment and disengagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current airway stabilization systems are used, then the airway device can be positioned in the trachea, but the system fails to prevent clinically significant movement under multidirectional forces
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilization system divides the securing function into multiple independent components: a headgear with adjustment mechanisms, a stabilization member with engagement features, and a retention system. This segmentation allows each component to address specific directional forces independently, collectively providing comprehensive resistance to multidirectional forces while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs counteracting force mechanisms where the headgear and stabilization member create opposing forces to balance and resist multidirectional pulls on the airway device. The adjustment mechanisms allow clinicians to pre-tension the system to counteract expected forces from patient movement, agitation, or procedural manipulation, thereby preventing clinically significant movement.
2Reliability
If a secure locking mechanism is implemented to prevent movement, then reliability improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilization system incorporates dynamic adjustment capabilities that allow the device to adapt to different patient sizes, anatomical variations, and force conditions. The headgear includes adjustable components that can be modified during patient care, enabling the system to maintain optimal stabilization without requiring multiple specialized devices, thereby managing complexity while preserving reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The headgear and stabilization member are designed as multi-functional components that can accommodate various airway device types and patient populations (adults, pediatric, neonatal). This universality reduces the need for multiple specialized devices, managing overall system complexity while maintaining reliable stabilization across different clinical scenarios through standardized yet adjustable mechanisms.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system is designed for adjustable positioning to accommodate various facial geometries, then adaptability improves, but the ease of operation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The headgear and stabilization member are pre-configured with adjustment mechanisms and engagement features that guide proper positioning during application. Clinical instructions and design features enable rapid adjustment to appropriate settings for different patient types, reducing the operational burden despite the system's adaptability. The pre-designed adjustment range covers most clinical scenarios, minimizing the need for complex customization.
4Strength
If a robust clamping mechanism is used to resist multidirectional forces, then force resistance improves, but the risk of airway device constriction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stabilization system applies force locally at specific engagement points on the airway device rather than circumferential compression. The headgear and stabilization member interface with the device at discrete locations designed to resist multidirectional forces without constricting the airway lumen. This localized force application maintains device patency while providing robust stabilization against bending, rotation, and pull-out forces.
Data Source
AI summary
An airway. stabilization system that may be used with human patients or with animal patients in veterinary applications having anatomical and facial geometries of various sizes and configurations including pediatric, and, in particular, addresses the unique challenges associated with maintaining the mechanical ventilation of infants and children. The stabilization system may be fitted to any airway device or endotracheal tube apparatus of any size to maintain an airway in a human or animal patient’s trachea and allows both lateral and longitudinal adjustment of the airway device insertion depth and prevents unintended extubation of a patient resulting from the application of multidirectional forces of any type to the airway device.