A method and apparatus is provided for automatic emergency airway detection. The apparatus includes a frame with a carriage guide configured to be secured around a neck of a subject. A carriage including a sensor is configured to move along the carriage guide. The sensor is configured to measure a value of a parameter indicating a topography of the neck of the subject. A processor includes a memory with instructions to receive first data from the sensor of the value of the parameter as the carriage is moved along the carriage guide and to determine, with the first data, second data indicating a position along the carriage guide corresponding to the cricothyroid region of the neck. The processor subsequently transmits a first signal indicating the second data. A method of using the apparatus is also provided.

A system for generating nitric oxide can include an apparatus positioned in a trachea of a mammal, the apparatus including a respiration sensor for collecting information related to one or more triggering events associated with the trachea, an oxygen sensor for collecting information related to a concentration of oxygen in a gas, and one or more pairs of electrodes for initiating a series of electric arcs to generate nitric oxide, and the system for generating nitric oxide can also include a controller for determining one or more control parameters based on the information collected by the respiration sensor and the oxygen sensor, wherein the series of electric arcs is initiated based on the control parameters determined by the controller.

A medical elongated body including a catheter main body. The catheter main body has a tubular body and a lumen. The tubular body includes a guide wire lumen into which a guide wire is insertable. The tubular body also a distal member positioned at the distal portion of the tubular body. The distal member has a lumen that communicates with the guide wire lumen. The inner diameter of the distal member decreases between the proximal end and a distal end opening of the distal member. The medical elongated body also includes a visible marker that extends circumferentially on the outer surface of the distal member to indicate a position of the distal member in the axial direction corresponding to a predetermined inner diameter of the distal member. The visible marker is visible before the medical elongated body is inserted into a living body.

A medication delivery apparatus and system for the application of a medical agent to a treatment site, such as an airway, and method for use of same are disclosed. In one embodiment of the medication delivery apparatus and system, a reservoir supplies a medical agent to a lower chamber of a housing wherein an ultrasonic transducer applies ultrasonic energy thereto, thereby nebulizing the medical agent. A control valve is interposed between a source of positive pressure air and an upper chamber of the housing to selectively apply positive air pressure to the upper chamber. Upon the application of positive air pressure, the airflow delivers the nebulized medical agent to a target location, such as the airway.

A tracheal and pharyngeal suction device includes a handle including an interior cavity within the handle body, a connector positioned within the interior cavity and moveable along at least a portion of a length of the interior cavity, a proximal suction catheter having a coupling portion and a treatment portion, wherein the coupling portion is coupled to a proximal side of the connector; and a distal suction catheter coupled to a distal side of the connector.

A system can perform the following procedure as part of a plan to treat sleep apnea, according to an embodiment. The system monitors a degree to which an airway of a subject is open, and monitors a condition that is related to the degree to which the airway is open. The system also correlates the condition to the degree to which the airway is open, and generates a data structure that represents the correlation between the condition and the degree to which the airway is open. This system can allow a sleep-apnea-treatment system to operate in a closed-loop mode, i.e., to monitor a level of sleep apnea in a subject by monitoring the correlated condition, and to treat the subject in a manner that the treatment system deems appropriate for the level of sleep apnea that the treatment system determines that the subject is experiencing.

An endobronchial tube is provided that includes a medical tube comprising an endotracheal portion and a bronchial portion having a common single lumen extending between a proximal end and a distal end of the tube, a first endotracheal inflatable cuff for sealing against a trachea of a patient, a second endotracheal inflatable cuff positioned distal to the first endotracheal inflatable cuff for sealing against the trachea of the patient; a bronchial inflatable cuff positioned near a distal end of the medical tube after the first endotracheal inflatable cuff and the second endotracheal inflatable cuff, for sealing the left main stem bronchi of the patient, an intraluminal balloon blocker positioned along an inner surface of the bronchial portion for sealing the common single lumen at the distal end of the bronchial portion, and an aperture positioned between the endotracheal portion and the bronchial portion.

The present disclosure provides for a method of performing a percutaneous dilational tracheostomy (PDT) that includes inserting a tracheal tube including an inflatable cuff through a mouth and into a trachea of a patient; inserting a bronchoscope into the tracheal tube; inserting a puncturing wire through a channel of the bronchoscope. The puncturing wire includes a sharp cutting end and a dull gripping end. The method also includes puncturing the trachea of the patient with the sharp cutting end of the puncturing wire from within the trachea at a selected location to create a stoma; passing at least one dilator over the sharp cutting end of the puncturing wire for dilating the stoma; inserting a tracheostomy tube into the trachea through the stoma; and removing the puncturing wire from the patient.

A system for generating nitric oxide can include an apparatus positioned in a trachea of a mammal, the apparatus in-eluding a respiration sensor for collecting information related to one or more triggering events associated with the trachea, an oxygen sensor for collecting information related to a concentration of oxygen in a gas, and one or more pairs of electrodes for initiating a series of electric arcs to generate nitric oxide, and the system for generating nitric oxide can also include a controller for determining one or more control parameters based on the information collected by the respiration sensor and the oxygen sensor, wherein the series of electric arcs is initiated based on the control parameters determined by the controller.

The following describes various applications and uses for a controllably rigidizable flexible device or sheath. Such rigidizing mechanisms can allow for a transition between a rigid state and a flexible state of a sheath. Rigidization can be applied along an entire length of a flexible sheath or along select portions of the sheath, and the rigidization can be of varying stiffness. Rigidization can be user controlled or automatically controlled using computer processes.