Airway tube
AssigneeIndian Ocean Medical Inc.
InventorPeter Young
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An airway tube (2), an artificial airway device (1) for use in establishing an airway in a patient, and a method of manufacture are provided. The artificial airway device includes the airway tube for introduction into the patient's trachea for passage of gases to and from the patient's lungs. The airway tube defines a longitudinal axis, includes a flexible tube wall (3), and is capable of bending so as to fit into a patient's airway. The airway tube includes a distal portion (4) and a proximal portion (5), and is adapted such that all or a part of the proximal portion is relatively more resistant to bending out of the longitudinal axis than all or a part of the distal portion.
Claims26
An airway tube for establishing an airway in a patient, the airway tube comprising:
- a tube for introduction into the patient's trachea for passage of gases to and from the patient's lungs, the tube having a longitudinal axis with a constant diameter and including a flexible tube wall, the tube being capable of bending so as to fit into the patient's airway and including a distal portion and a proximal portion, wherein the tube is adapted such that all or a part of the proximal portion is relatively more resistant to bending along the longitudinal axis relative to all or a part of the distal portion,
- wherein the proximal portion of the tube comprises a ventilator connector at a proximal end of the tube, the ventilator connector having a constant wall thickness, and a sleeve distal to the ventilator connector, wherein the sleeve surrounds the tube wall and the proximal portion of the tube is resistant to bending,
- wherein the sleeve comprises a through-bore of constant diameter sized and configured such that the sleeve fits closely around the tube wall radially along an entire length of the sleeve such that the sleeve is retained around the tube during use within the patient,
- wherein the resistance to bending of the said proximal portion of the tube decreases in the proximal to distal direction,
- wherein the sleeve comprises an increase in a thickness of the sleeve at a proximal end relative to a thickness of the sleeve at a distal end,
- wherein the sleeve comprises a progressively decreasing thickness to provide a distal taper, and
- wherein a wall thickness of the sleeve progressively decreases along a majority of the sleeve from the proximal end to the distal end.
A sleeve for use with an airway tube for establishing an airway in a patient, the sleeve comprising:
- a through-bore of constant diameter sized and configured such that the sleeve fits closely and radially around a tube wall of the airway tube along an entire length of the sleeve such that the sleeve is retained around the airway tube during use within the patient,
- a distal portion;
- and a proximal portion,
- wherein the sleeve is adapted such that all or a part of the proximal portion has relatively more resistance to bending along a longitudinal axis of the airway tube relative to all or a part of the distal portion,
- wherein the said resistance to bending of the said proximal portion decreases in the proximal to distal direction, and the sleeve comprises a proximal element having a constant wall thickness, a wall thickness of the sleeve extending distally from the proximal element having a progressively decreasing thickness to provide a distal taper, and
- wherein the wall thickness of the sleeve progressively decreases along a majority of the sleeve from a proximal end of the sleeve to a distal end of the sleeve.
An airway tube for establishing an airway in a patient, the airway tube comprising:
- a tube configured for insertion into a trachea of the patient and passage of gases to and from lungs of the patient, the tube having a longitudinal axis, a generally constant diameter along the longitudinal axis, and a flexible tube wall, the tube configured to bend so as to fit into an airway of the patient and including a distal portion and a proximal portion;
- and
- a sleeve disposed over the proximal portion of the tube and including a through-bore having a generally constant diameter sized and configured such that the sleeve fits closely around the flexible tube wall radially along an entire length of the sleeve such that the sleeve is retained around the tube during use within the patient, the sleeve having a sleeve wall, a thickness of the sleeve wall progressively tapering along a majority of the entire length of the sleeve from proximate a proximal end of the sleeve to proximate a distal end of the sleeve, the sleeve being configured such that the sleeve is resistant to bending, and the resistance to bending decreasing from proximate the proximal end of the sleeve to proximate the distal end of the sleeve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.