This invention relates to emergency resuscitation of a patient who has been asphyxiated, drowned, or suffered a heart attack or electric shock, or the like. Common to all these patients is the fact that they have stopped breathing. It is medically necessary under these conditions to ventilate the lungs to provide oxygen to the body to prevent irreversible damage to the brain and other vital organs and cells.
The most effective instrument for this purpose is the endotracheal tube, which is a tube placed directly in the trachea or windpipe. The drawback to this device is that it must be inserted by an anesthesiologist, with hospital facilities, not normally available when the above-elaborated emergencies occur. The need has been apparent and various devices have been designed which will be relatively simple to insert and operate.
Esophageal airway devices presently being marketed do not replace endotracheal intubation, which provides optimal control of the airway. The primary advantage to esophageal intubation is that these devices can be passed blindly into the esophagus without need for laryngoscopic visualization of the larnyx and associated structures. Therefore, it can be used by paramedical and medical personnel who have much less training than is required to achieve competence in the use of an endotracheal tube.
Common to all the esophageal devices is the necessity of inserting the tube into the esophagus before it can function to ventilate the patient. However, it is fairly common for even a medically trained technician to mistakenly insert these devices into the trachea. Valuable time can be lost in the trial and error method of inserting these tubes into the proper passage.