An Everting Emergency Airway Device

Abstract

Emergency airway management is a challenging procedure essential in trauma settings. This paper proposes a dual balloon, everting airway device that autonomously deploys into the patient’s airway. Its compact size and reliable automatic deployment make it ideal for bystander use. The dual balloon design allows it to deploy into the esophagus or trachea. Everted tubes are growing soft robots that excel in the exploration of irregular and sensitive environments. Eversion gives the proposed device a passive mechanical intelligence allowing it to enter the patient’s airway without heading control. These initial studies aim to demonstrate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of such a device by characterizing the following: minimum pressures and forces required to deploy individual components; the effects of airway anatomy on growth; and the ability to provide a seal using elastic balloons. Results show the device exerts 28% less force during insertion than laryngeal mask approaches and 82% less force than commercial laryngoscopes. In a simplified airway, the novel everted balloon configurations show 1:1 Cuff Pressure (CP) to Airway Pressure (AWP) sealing efficacy and supply airway pressures comparable with airway pressures supplied using a ventilator. Balloons are able to seal with cuff pressures that do not limit mucosal perfusion.