Patent Application
20210299381
None.
The present invention generally relates to the field of medical instruments such as surgical instruments and techniques for creating an opening in air passageways, and more particularly to a surgical device for making an incision through a patient tissue for creating a surgical airway in a patient's trachea, thereby simply inserting a tracheal tube via the incision through the tissue proximate the patient's trachea to facilitate oxygenation and ventilation during emergency medical conditions.
In medical emergencies, there is an important need to access and control the patient's airway. A lack of oxygen to the patient, even for a brief period of time, may prove fatal. Patients who are inflicted with upper airway obstructions generally receive a surgical airway when non-invasive techniques fail to clear their upper airway. There are generally three common approaches for creating a surgical airway: needle tracheotomy, standard tracheotomy, and cricothyroidotomy (also known as cricothyrotomy).
Cricothyrotomy became established as the preferred method of surgical emergency management during the 1970s and early 1980s. Cricothyrotomy is a procedure of making a surgical incision using a scalpel blade through the skin proximate the patient's trachea and cricothyroid membrane for the placement of a breathing tube to establish an airway during certain life-threatening situations, such as airway obstruction by a foreign body, airway edema or other medical emergencies. It is easier to learn, quicker to perform and is overall a safer procedure for the emergency medical professional or practitioner who performs surgical airways very infrequently. Cricothyrotomy is performed by creating an opening in the cricothyroid membrane and inserting a tracheal tube.
The general procedure for surgical cricothyrotomy includes different steps. At one step, the medical professional could locate and identify the patient's cricothyroid membrane. At another step, a vertical or horizontal skin incision is made through the cricothyroid membrane using a scalpel blade. Further, at another step, the medical professional could enlarge the incision using a hemostat. At another step, the medical professional could stabilize the surgical opening using a tracheal hook and insert the tracheal tube to facilitate oxygenation and ventilation. This surgical procedure requires, at minimum, the following tools/instruments: scalpel blade for making the incision, hemostat to enlarge the incision, a tracheal hook to stabilize the surgical opening, and a tracheal tube to allow passage of air into the trachea.
However, the instruments/tools may be relatively large in size and are cumbersome to be easily carried by the medical professional and difficult to use during an emergency. The mechanics of handling the scalpel blade for making vertical or horizontal incisions, and then placing the tracheal hook in the right position for holding and stabilizing the trachea can be challenging during an emergency where there is little or no preparation time available. There exists a need to minimize the number of instruments/tools required for the medical professional and simplify the procedures involved, thus increasing the probability of saving the patient's life.
A device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,308,896 to Rafael Cruz, which discloses a device consists of a combination of a tracheal hook and a scalpel device used for creating an emergency surgical airway for a patient. The device includes a handle and a scalpel portion attached to one end of the handle which includes a blade for creating an incision. The tracheal hook includes at least one hook which is integrated to the handle or slidably attached to the handle.
Another invention is described in US20100089405 to Ross Johnson, et al., therein is a description of a method of creating an airway proximate to the patient's trachea using a surgical tool. The surgical tool includes a handle having a channel, a tracheal hook connected to the handle, and a scalpel positioned in the channel of the handle. The tracheal hook and the scalpel are removably attached to the handle or integrated to the handle. The surgical tool further includes a cap used for protecting the scalpel.
Another patent, U.S. Pat. No. 8,356,598, to Royce Rumsey, describes an apparatus and method used in tracheostomy and cricothyroidotomy procedures. The apparatus for providing a passage into the body includes a first slider unit and a second slider unit, which are operably connected to a slider track for the retractable deployment of a scalpel and a tissue spreader attached to the body. Further, the auto-retraction of the scalpel is achieved by the movement of the second slider unit.
Though the above-mentioned inventions and patents disclose surgical devices with a combination of a blade and hooks for creating the surgical airway, none of the them provide the features and related advantages of the presently disclosed subject matter. Notwithstanding the advancements made in the field of medical instruments, there is a need to provide a surgical device with optimal design features for creating an airway under any emergency medical circumstances that significantly improves the effectiveness of simply performing the medical procedures.
This summary is provided to introduce in simplified form concepts that are further described in the following detailed descriptions. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it to be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The present invention relates to a surgical device for making an incision through a patient tissue for creating a surgical airway in a patient's trachea, thereby simply inserting a tracheal tube via the incision through the tissue proximate the patient's trachea to facilitate oxygenation and ventilation during medical emergency conditions.
In an embodiment, the device is configured to enable a person or medical professional to make an incision through a patient's tissue/skin proximate the patient's trachea, thereby simply inserting a tracheal tube via the incision through the tissue proximate the patient's trachea to facilitate oxygenation and ventilation during emergency medical conditions. In one embodiment, the device comprises a handle and a bolster. In one embodiment, the handle includes a first end and a second end. In one embodiment, the handle further comprises a longitudinal cavity for securely receiving and holding a blade. In one embodiment, the blade could be, but not limited to, a scalpel. In one embodiment, the blade is securely positioned within the longitudinal cavity of the handle. In one embodiment, the bolster is securely and slidably positioned into a recess or an opening of the handle at the second end.
In one embodiment, the bolster is configured to freely slide in and out of the handle for concealing and exposing the blade, thereby enabling a person or medical professional to make an incision proximate the patient's trachea for creating the surgical airway and allowing to simply insert a tracheal tube via the incision to facilitate oxygenation and ventilation during emergency medical conditions. The bolster could freely slide into the handle when the device is pushing against the patient's tissue, thereby exposing the blade forwardly of the handle to make the incision proximate the patient's trachea.
In one embodiment, the bolster further comprises one or more hooks. In one embodiment, the hooks are molded at, but not limited to, a top portion of the bolster. The hooks are configured to enable the person or medical professional to hold the patient's tissue for opening the incision proximate the patient's trachea by holding the handle in traction perpendicular to the patient's skin. In one embodiment, the hooks could be, but not limited to, distally fixed angle hooks. In one embodiment, the hooks could be, but not limited to, wedge-shaped protrusions. The hooks could be made from a flexible material, but not limited to, a plastic polymer or other suitable and a durable medical grade material typically used for tracheal hooks. In one embodiment, the device is made of a flexible material including, but not limited to, plastic. In other embodiment, the hooks could be aligned and shaped as a slightly protruding wedge, enabling the tissue to slide onto the crest of the wedge upon tissue incision.
In one embodiment, the bolster is slidably positioned within the recess at the second end of the handle using a pair of latches. In one embodiment, the bolster slidably moves into and out of the handle to expose and conceal the blade. The bolster retracts into the handle and exposes the blade to enable the person or medical professional for making an incision through the tissue proximate the patient's trachea to provide a surgical airway. The bolster could slide out of the handle for concealing the blade to prevent inadvertent damages while inserting a tracheal tube via the incision to facilitate oxygenation and ventilation during emergency medical conditions.
In one embodiment, the bolster further comprises a pair of latches. The bolster could be slidably positioned into the recess at the second end of the handle and secured by engaging the pair of latches to mating slots on both sides of the handle. In one embodiment, the bolster includes a shape, but not limited to, a tapered shape or a flared shape. In one embodiment, the bolster is made of, but not limited to, plastic.
In one embodiment, the handle further comprises mating slots on sidewalls for slidably receiving the pair of latches of the bolster. The pair of latches could prevent the bolster from falling out of the handle. In one embodiment, the handle could be, but not limited to, a solid or injection molded handle formed from any one of material including, but not limited to, plastic or other suitable medical grade materials. In one embodiment, the handle includes a shape, but not limited to, a tapered shape or a flared shape and/or any other suitable shapes.
The previous summary and the following detailed descriptions are to be read in view of the drawings, which illustrate particular exemplary embodiments and features as briefly described below. The summary and detailed descriptions, however, are not limited to only those embodiments and features explicitly illustrated.
These descriptions are presented with sufficient details to provide an understanding of one or more particular embodiments of broader inventive subject matters. These descriptions expound upon and exemplify particular features of those particular embodiments without limiting the inventive subject matters to the explicitly described embodiments and features. Considerations in view of these descriptions will likely give rise to additional and similar embodiments and features without departing from the scope of the inventive subject matters. Although the term “step” may be expressly used or implied relating to features of processes or methods, no implication is made of any particular order or sequence among such expressed or implied steps unless an order or sequence is explicitly stated.
Any dimensions expressed or implied in the drawings and these descriptions are provided for exemplary purposes. Thus, not all embodiments within the scope of the drawings and these descriptions are made according to such exemplary dimensions. The drawings are not made necessarily to scale. Thus, not all embodiments within the scope of the drawings and these descriptions are made according to the apparent scale of the drawings with regard to relative dimensions in the drawings. However, for each drawing, at least one embodiment is made according to the apparent relative scale of the drawing.
In one embodiment, the bolster 104 is configured to freely slide in and out of the handle 102 for concealing and exposing the blade 106, thereby enabling a person or medical professional to make an incision proximate the patient's trachea for creating the surgical airway and allowing to simply insert a tracheal tube via the incision to facilitate oxygenation and ventilation during emergency medical conditions. The bolster 104 could freely slide into the handle 102 when the device 100 is pushing against the patient's tissue, thereby exposing the blade 106 forwardly of the handle 102 to make the incision proximate the patient's trachea. In one embodiment, the bolster 104 further comprises one or more hooks 108. The hooks 108 could hold the patient's tissue for opening the incision proximate the patient's trachea for inserting the tracheal tube. In one embodiment, the device 100 is made of a flexible material includes, but not limited to, plastic.
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In one embodiment, the handle 102 further comprises mating slots 120 on sidewalls for slidably receiving the pair of latches 122 (shown in
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Particular embodiments and features have been described with reference to the drawings. It is to be understood that these descriptions are not limited to any single embodiment or any particular set of features, and that similar embodiments and features may arise or modifications and additions may be made without departing from the scope of these descriptions and the spirit of the appended claims.
