TRACHEA MONITORING TUBE AND ENDOTRACHEAL CATHETER INCORPORATING THE SAME

Abstract

A trachea monitoring tube and an endotracheal catheter incorporating the same are characterized in that the trachea monitoring tube is located outside a breathing tube of the endotracheal catheter. More specifically, the breathing tube has a first end portion and a second end portion, the latter of which is inserted into a patient's respiratory duct during use; and the trachea monitoring tube has a monitoring end fixed to the breathing tube and spaced from the first end portion of the breathing tube by a predetermined distance. An endoscope can be inserted into the trachea monitoring tube in order to observe from outside the breathing tube how the breathing tube is inserted into the patient's respiratory duct.

Claims

1. An endotracheal catheter incorporating a trachea monitoring tube, for use in combination with an endoscope during tracheal intubation, the endotracheal catheter comprising: a breathing tube having a first end portion and a second end portion, the breathing tube also having a marked portion adjacent to the first end portion; and a trachea monitoring tube providing an endoscope passageway through which the endoscope can extend, the trachea monitoring tube having a monitoring end, the monitoring end being fixed to an exterior portion of the breathing tube, the monitoring end and the first end portion of the breathing tube being spaced by a predetermined distance, wherein when the breathing tube enters a respiratory duct, the trachea monitoring tube is moved synchronously with the breathing tube.

2. The endotracheal catheter of claim 1, wherein the monitoring end of the trachea monitoring tube is spaced from the marked portion by a distance ranging from 0.5 cm to 3 cm.

3. The endotracheal catheter of claim 2, wherein the monitoring end of the trachea monitoring tube is spaced from the marked portion by 1 cm.

4. The endotracheal catheter of claim 1, wherein the breathing tube has an upper portion and a lower portion, and the monitoring end of the trachea monitoring tube is located at the lower portion of the breathing tube.

5. The endotracheal catheter of claim 4, wherein the monitoring end of the trachea monitoring tube is located at a 5 o'clock or 7 o'clock position.

6. The endotracheal catheter of claim 5, wherein the trachea monitoring tube has a rear end, and the trachea monitoring tube extends along and around the breathing tube in a spiral manner such that the rear end is located at a 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock position of the second end portion of the breathing tube.

7. A trachea monitoring tube configured to be fixed to a breathing tube, wherein the breathing tube has a first end portion and a second end portion, the trachea monitoring tube comprising a monitoring end and a fixing element for fixing the monitoring end to the breathing tube such that the monitoring end and the first end portion of the breathing tube are spaced by a predetermined distance.

8. The trachea monitoring tube of claim 7, wherein the fixing element is a C-clamp, an attaching device, or a shrink wrap.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a trachea monitoring tube according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an endotracheal catheter incorporating a trachea monitoring tube according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] FIG. 3 schematically shows how the present invention makes it possible to observe from outside a breathing tube how the breathing tube is inserted into the respiratory duct;

[0019] FIG. 4 is another schematic drawing showing how the present invention makes it possible to observe from outside a breathing tube how the breathing tube is inserted into the respiratory duct; and

[0020] FIG. 5 is still another schematic drawing showing how the present invention makes it possible to observe from outside a breathing tube how the breathing tube is inserted into the respiratory duct.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] The present invention integrates the aforesaid technical features into a trachea monitoring tube and an endotracheal catheter incorporating the same, whose major effects are demonstrated below with reference to an illustrative embodiment.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, this embodiment includes a breathing tube 1 and a trachea monitoring tube 2.

[0023] The breathing tube 1 has a first end portion 11, a second end portion 12 opposite the first end portion 11, an upper portion 13, and a lower portion 14 opposite the upper portion 13 (see FIG. 5 for the upper portion 13 and the lower portion 14). The breathing tube 1 also has a marked portion 15 adjacent to the first end portion 11. The trachea monitoring tube 2 serves only to provide an endoscope passageway 21 through which an endoscope 3 can be inserted (see FIG. 3, FIG. 4, or FIG. 5 for the endoscope 3).

[0024] The trachea monitoring tube 2 has a monitoring end 22 and a rear end 23 opposite the monitoring end 22. The trachea monitoring tube 2 has a fixing element 24 for fixing the monitoring end 22 to an exterior portion of the breathing tube 1. For example, the fixing element 24 can be a C-clamp, an attaching device, or a shrink wrap. As the human respiratory duct A is located in front of the esophagus B, the monitoring end 22 is fixed to the lower portion 14 of the breathing tube 1 to facilitate observation during tube insertion. Preferably, the monitoring end 22 is at a 5 o'clock or 7 o'clock position and is spaced from the first end portion 11 of the breathing tube 1 by a predetermined distance d. Moreover, the monitoring end 22 is spaced from the marked portion 15 by a distance ranging from 0.5 cm to 3 cm, preferably 1 cm. The trachea monitoring tube 2 extends along and around the breathing tube 1 in a spiral manner such that the rear end 23 is located at a 9 o'clock or 3 o'clock position of the second end portion 12 of the breathing tube 1 to facilitate the closing of jaws.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a surgeon can place the first end portion 11 of the breathing tube 1 into the respiratory duct A (which is in front of the esophagus B) of a patient who needs tracheal intubation, and then insert the endoscope 3 through the rear end 23 of the trachea monitoring tube 2 into the endoscope passageway 21 until the monitoring end 22 of the trachea monitoring tube 2 is reached. Thus, not only can the patient's respiratory duct A and esophagus B be clearly observed, but also the moving direction of the breathing tube 1 can be observed from outside the breathing tube 1 in order to place the breathing tube 1 precisely in the respiratory duct A. By observing the marked portion 15 of the breathing tube 1, the surgeon can make sure that the breathing tube 1 has reached the desired depth. If the breathing tube 1 is inserted too deep, the respiratory duct A may get hurt as a result, but the breathing tube 1 may fall out if not inserted deep enough. Since the trachea monitoring tube 2 advances along with the breathing tube 1, the predetermined distance d therebetween remains constant, which facilitates the surgeon's observation.

[0026] Referring to FIG. 5, the monitoring end 22 of the trachea monitoring tube 2 is fixed at a 5 o'clock or 7 o'clock position of the breathing tube 1 so that observation can be made with ease during tube insertion.

[0027] According to the present invention, the trachea monitoring tube 2 only has to provide the endoscope passageway 21. Further, the trachea monitoring tube 2 only has to incorporate the fixing element 24 in order to be fixed to a common breathing tube. This allows the present invention to be implemented at low cost and therefore have great potential of being widely used.

[0028] The foregoing description should be able to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to fully understand the operation, use, and effects of the present invention. The embodiment described above, however, is only one preferred embodiment of the invention and is not intended to be restrictive of the scope of the invention. All simple equivalent variations and modifications made according to the appended claims and the disclosure of the present specification should fall within the scope of the present invention.