Angled Camera Laryngoscope Blade for Stable Airway Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional laryngoscope blades, whether curved or straight, face challenges in providing stable and atraumatic airway access due to their design limitations, which can complicate endotracheal intubation, especially in patients with challenging anatomy.
Innovation Solution
A low-profile, straight laryngoscope blade with a tapered design and an angled camera, allowing for hybrid functionality between curved and straight blades, simplifies insertion and visualization by providing a stable base for tongue compression and unobstructed airway access, facilitating endotracheal intubation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a curved laryngoscope blade is used, then tongue stabilization is improved, but blade insertion difficulty increases and tongue compression capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The blade is divided into distinct functional zones: a tapered distal third for tongue compression and insertion, and a broader proximal portion for stabilization. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function optimally without the compromises of a uniformly curved design.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the blade have different geometric properties - the distal tip is tapered and thin for compression and insertion, while the proximal portion is wider and more robust for stabilization. This local variation in geometry enables the blade to simultaneously achieve insertion ease and tongue stabilization.
2Force
If a straight laryngoscope blade is used, then tongue compression capability is improved, but airway visualization quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The camera is positioned at an angle offset from the longitudinal axis of the blade, creating a multidimensional viewing geometry. This angular offset allows the camera to capture airway structures that would be obscured in a strictly axial view, compensating for the straight blade's limited visualization capability while maintaining superior tongue compression.
3Strength
If a thick blade design is used, then structural stability is improved, but airway access trauma increases and insertion difficulty worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The blade thickness is varied along its length, being thinnest at the distal tip for trauma-free insertion and progressively thicker toward the proximal end for structural stability. This gradient in thickness parameter allows the blade to be both strong andatraumatic.
Solution Approach 2:
The blade incorporates a tapered geometric composite that transitions from a thin, flexible distal portion to a thicker, more rigid proximal portion. This composite structure provides the necessary strength-stability while minimizing trauma during insertion.
4Loss of information
If an angled camera is positioned on a straight blade, then airway visualization is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The camera mounting structure is integrated directly into the blade geometry itself, rather than being a separate attachment. The angled camera position is built into the blade's tapered structure, merging the imaging function with the structural form and reducing overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A laryngoscope that includes a low-profile, straight laryngoscope blade that is thin and tapered in width and height, and designed to be intuitive in use and function. A distal tip of the blade may be configured to be placed in the anterior oropharynx with the angled camera (e.g., 10 degrees-40 degrees), thereby providing views of the airway and facilitating blade advancement. Real-time image data collected during a laryngoscopy may be communicated to a medical professional for immediate and ongoing feedback during a laryngoscopy or communicated to an electronic medical record. The laryngoscope provides first responders and airway managers of varying abilities a unique, portable, wireless laryngoscope to optimally manage airways and provide the greatest likelihood of safe, atraumatic airway access. The laryngoscope with the transformational laryngoscope blade design having an angled camera and wireless video forms a singular, effective instrument for airway managers and medical professionals.