Endotracheal intubation support instrument
Inventors
Uesugi, Takanobu • Chiba, Mitsuru • Honda, Yasushi • Suzuki, Jun
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-10542873-B2
Publication Date
2020-01-28
Expiration Date
Abstract
Endotracheal intubation support instrument comprises: a main body section having flexibility; a handle section and a blade section extending from both sides of the main body section respectively; and a U-shaped groove running through the main body section from the handle section to the blade section and allowing a flexible tube of a bronchial fiber to come in and out freely. The blade section comprises: a flap for subsuming all or a part of a larynx of a patient; and a lifting body having, on each bank of the U-shape groove, a first protruding portion allowed to contact with a peripheral portion of an epiglottis of the patient and a second protruding portion provided next to a main body section side of the first protruding portion and allowed to contact with a peripheral portion of a glossal root of the patient.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to an endotracheal intubation support instrument for prior to endotracheal intubation, where an endotracheal tube is inserted from an oral cavity of a patient into a trachea by introducing and passing a bronchial fiber from the oral cavity into the trachea. The instrument comprises a main body section having flexibility, and a handle section and a blade section extending from opposite ends of the main body section. A U-shaped groove extends from the handle section to the blade section through the main body section and allows a flexible tube of the bronchial fiber to enter and exit the U-shaped groove freely.
The blade section includes a flap configured to subsume all or a part of a larynx of the patient, and a lifting body with a first protruding portion in a mountain shape and a second protruding portion provided closer to the main body section than the first protruding portion in the insertion direction, with the second protruding portion also in a mountain shape. The flap has walls smoothly extending toward a direction where the U-shaped groove opens from an end portion of a side surface of each side of the main body section, so that an outline of the blade section is in a concave shape.
During use, the U-shaped groove is located at a position facing the larynx, and the first protruding portion is configured to contact a peripheral portion of an epiglottis while the second protruding portion is configured to contact a peripheral portion of a glossal root. By structurally arranging these contact portions on the lifting body on top of both banks of the U-shaped groove, the instrument establishes an airway space for viewing the glottis and supports insertion and guidance of the bronchial fiber even where the epiglottis blocks the tracheal entrance.
Claims Coverage
The claims cover two independent claims. Across them, the coverage centers on a flexible main body carrying a forward blade and a rearward handle, with a U-shaped groove configured to guide a flexible tube of a bronchial fiber, and a blade configuration that subsumes the larynx while using mountain-shaped protruding portions to contact the epiglottis and glossal root.
Flexible main body and one-side open U-shaped groove for bronchial fiber guidance
A main body section having flexibility; a handle section and a blade section extending from opposite ends of the main body section; and a U-shaped groove extending from the handle section to the blade section through the main body section, open from a central portion of a cross section of the U-shaped groove toward one side, and allowing a flexible tube of the bronchial fiber to enter and exit the U-shaped groove freely.
Blade with larynx-subsumming flap and lifting body with mountain-shaped epiglottis and glossal-root contact
The blade section comprises a flap configured to subsume all or a part of a larynx of the patient and a lifting body having, on top of both banks of the U-shaped groove, a first protruding portion in a mountain shape and a second protruding portion in a mountain shape, the second protruding portion being closer to the main body section than the first protruding portion in the insertion direction; the flap has walls smoothly extending toward a direction where the U-shaped groove opens, so that an outline of the blade section is concave; when in use, the U-shaped groove faces the larynx, the first protruding portion contacts a peripheral portion of an epiglottis, and the second protruding portion contacts a peripheral portion of a glossal root.
Forward blade with flap having spaced side walls and lifting body arranged between the side walls
A main body section having flexibility; a blade section at a forward end of the main body section in an insertion direction; a handle section at a rearward end of the main body section in the insertion direction; and a U-shaped groove extending from the handle section up to the blade section through the main body section and open toward a front side of the main body section, the blade section and the handle section, wherein the blade section comprises a flap having a pair of side walls extending spacedly from both end portions toward the front side; and a lifting body arranged between the pair of side walls, with a first protruding portion and a second protruding portion located next to a rearward portion of the first protruding portion in the insertion direction, the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion being on a top of both sides of the U-shaped groove.
Overall, the independent claims require a flexible endotracheal intubation support instrument with a U-shaped groove extending through the main body to guide a bronchial fiber, and a blade section geometry including a flap for subsuming or framing the larynx together with a lifting body having first and second protruding portions shaped to contact the epiglottis and glossal root, thereby enabling glottis viewing support prior to endotracheal intubation.
Stated Advantages
Provides easier glottis visualization and bronchial fiber insertion even when the epiglottis blocks the tracheal entrance.
Documented Applications
Endotracheal intubation support prior to inserting an endotracheal tube from an oral cavity into a trachea by introducing and passing a bronchial fiber into the trachea, including scenarios of difficult airways where the epiglottis blocks the tracheal entrance.
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