Medical Compounds and Tubing for Airway Management Devices
Airway management is a critical element of many hospital procedures and treatments, from unblocking secretions in the airway, administering complicated aspiration, and to reducing trauma or lowering the risk of respiratory distress. Equipment design is key and selecting the right materials and tubing is the foundation for this.
Airway management systems can be grouped into a number of categories, with several different device types within each category. These include: breathing circuits and attachments (e.g. nasal canula, oxygen hoods, facemasks), extraglottic airway devices, endotracheal intubation, tracheostomy access, and suction devices for airway clearance (e.g. soft catheters and Yankauer tube).
Breathing Circuits and Ventilation
Ventilation is a critical function for many medical procedures/ treatments. This therapy may be needed when a person shows signs of respiratory distress, apnoea or breathing failure. This treatment approach is non-invasive and versatile.
Typical breathing circuits use a wide range of componentry and numerous design options are available, including:
- Facemasks: Injection molded Flexible PVC
- Oxygen hoods: Flexible PVC film
- Nasal canula: Injection molded PVC or Cellene TPE
- Smoothbore tubing: Coextruded Rigid and Flexible PVC
- Manual inflation bag: Molded Cellene TPE
- Medical gas hose: Antistatic Flexible PVC tube
Extraglottic Airway Devices
The device is designed to open the upper airway to allow for unobstructed ventilation, allowing a person to breathe when there is an airway obstruction. When mask ventilation fails or endotracheal intubation is not required, an extraglottic airway can fill the gap, towards airway management during a medical procedure.
Supraglottic devices, such as the laryngeal mask airway (LMA), are primarily used in operating theater where a patient is under general anesthetic.
Typical components used in a LMA include:
- Multi lumen airway tube: Injection molded or Extruded Flexible PVC or Cellene TPE
- Inflation line: Flexible PVC tube
- Inflation cuff: Blow molded Flexible PVC or Cellene TPE with a frosted surface finish
- Back plate: injection molded Flexible PVC
- Inflation valve: Injection molded Rigid PVC
- Pilot balloon: Molded Flexible PVC with heavily frosted surface finish
Endotracheal and Endobronchial Intubation
Endotracheal/ endobronchial intubation involves the insertion of a tube into the airway through the throat. The tube is designed to clear the airway, provide ventilation and facilitate delivery of medication.
Endotracheal tubes come in a range of designs, including oral or nasal, cuffed or uncuffed, preformed, reinforced tubes, and with a double-lumen airway endobronchial intubation.
Most common device components used for a cuffed endotracheal tube include:
- Multi lumen airway tube: Extruded Flexible PVC
- Inflation line: Flexible PVC tube
- Inflation cuff: Blow molded Flexible PVC with a frosted surface finish
- Inflation valve: Injection molded Rigid PVC
- Pilot balloon: Molded Flexible PVC with heavily frosted surface finish
- Radiopaque stripe: Flexible PVC filled with high level of BaSO4 (or other radiopaque material)
Tracheal Intubation
Tracheostomy is a surgical procedure involving an incision on front of the neck and opening a direct airway through an opening in the trachea. The resulting stoma can serve independently as an airway or as a site for tracheostomy tube[1] to be inserted; thus allowing a person to breathe without the use of the nose or mouth.
Tracheostomy tubes are preformed, can be reinforced – and can come either cuffed or uncuffed.
Typical components used for a cuffed tracheostomy tube include:
- Multi lumen airway tube: Extruded Flexible PVC
- Inflation line: Flexible PVC tube
- Inflation cuff: Blow molded Flexible PVC with a frosted surface finish
- Inflation valve: Injection molded Rigid PVC
- Pilot balloon: Molded Flexible PVC with heavily frosted surface finish
Airway Clearance and Suction Devices
Suctioning is a way of removing excess fluid or mucus from the throat and upper airway by insertion of a soft catheter or rigid Yankauer through the mouth and applying suction to clear the secretions.
Both tubes can be designed and fitted with a vacuum breaker to control the level of suction being applied and limit the risk of trauma to the patient.
Typical components used for these tube types are:
Soft Suction Catheter
- Flexible Airway tube: Extruded Flexible PVC with “satin finish”
- Funnel Connector: Injection molded PVC (colour coded for sizing purposes)
- Vacuum control valve: Injection molded Rigid PVC (Colour coded for sizing)
Yankauer Tube
- Bubble Airway Tube: Extruded semi-Rigid PVC
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