Fiberoptic intubating stylet
AssigneeThe Beth Israel Hospital Association
InventorChristopher M. Greene
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An intubation assisting device includes an elongate stylet having a lens at a distal end thereof, a flexible bellows region proximal to the lens, and a semi-malleable region proximal to the flexible bellows. The stylet is mountable upon a body portion that has a handle mountable thereto. The body and styler have internally disposed therein an optical fiber assembly that enables a physician to view a patient's internal anatomy during an intubation procedure with the aid of an eyepiece disposed at a proximal end of the body portion. A pair of control cables extend within the bellows region of the stylet to the exterior of the device to facilitate articulation of the distal end of the stylet.
Claims17
An intubation assisting device, comprising
- a handle means for manipulating the device;
- a light source and a power source associated with the device;
- a body component, adjacent to the handle means, including at a proximal end thereof an eyepiece and lens system;
- an intubation assembly adjacent to the body component and including an elongate stylet having a diameter enabling it to be disposed within an endotracheal tube, the stylet comprising, at a proximal end thereof, a first, semimalleable or flexible portion able to be formed to a desired shape and to retain a desired shape during use, an intermediate, flexible region adjacent and distal to the first portion, and a third, distal, non-flexible portion of the stylet adjacent the flexible region, having disposed therein a lens means for facilitating viewing;
- a flexible optical fiber assembly disposed within the intubation assembly and terminating adjacent the lens means;
- an illumination fiber assembly disposed within and extending the length of the intubation assembly;
- and
- a guide means for controlling the flexion of the flexible region of the stylet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.