Laryngoscope is a tool for Tracheal intubation in patients who need anesthesia or have breathing difficulties. During CPR and anesthesia in surgery room, the use of a Laryngoscopy is inevitable. All the hospital wards, rescue teams and emergencies have to be equipped with Laryngoscope and know how to use it.
While a laryngoscope may be used to visually examine the larynx, its more important function is to aid in endotracheal intubation. The need for intubation may arise during a controlled situation, such as surgery, or in a crisis situation when the patient is unable to breathe adequately and requires a resuscitation bag or mechanical ventilation. During intubation, a flexible tube is inserted through the nasal or oral cavity, passed through the larynx, and into the trachea for the administration of gases. The larynx may be viewed as a chamber bounded superiorly by the epiglottis, inferiorly by the vocal cords which cover the opening to the trachea, anteriorly by the thyroid cartilage or Adam's apple, and posteriorly by a portion of the pharynx.
The laryngoscope generally comprises a handle, a blade which is used to move the patient's tongue out of the way and to lift the epiglottis to expose the vocal cords, and a light source to illuminate the glottis and vocal cords.
A Laryngoscope includes the following parts:
A. Handle and power supply battery.
B. Blade with embedded lighting source.
Two types of laryngoscopes are traditionally used by practitioners. The first type is generally called a MacIntosh blade. A MacIntosh blade is curved along its length and has a straight distal tip that is adapted to move the entire connecting tissue superior to the epiglottis of a patient to expose the aditus of the larynx. The second type of laryngoscope is generally called the Miller blade. The Miller blade is generally straight along its length and has a curved distal tip that is adapted to engage the epiglottis to expose the aditus of the larynx. The type of blade used depends on both the patient's anatomy and the preference of the practitioner. Accordingly, hospitals typically stock both types of blades in various sizes.
One of the problems of using the conventional blades is the selection of an appropriate blade for better observation of a Laryngoscope. Currently there are blades with specific sizes that a practitioner may use. As a result the perfect size is estimated based on a patient's age and sex, however this selection is simply an estimate and is not perfectly the needed size for the patient.
None of the blade evaluation methods can determine the exact size for all patients with the similar specifications. Anatomic differences and emergency condition put the inexperienced doctors in difficult situations. In order to overcome the shortcomings a new blade was designed.
For the reasons stated above and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a multipurpose blade that is more effective and versatile than traditional blades.