STTR Phase I: Minimally Invasive Articulating Intubation Stylet

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) Phase I project is that it provides a critical advancement in intubation devices and procedures, performed in both planned surgeries and in emergency procedures. The benefits from the technology apply to 25 – 30 million annual planned and emergency intubations performed each year in the USA alone.

The technology advanced in this project will improve at least 10% of all intubation procedures. The proposed end-product is low-cost, disposable, and requires limited training. facilitating adoption. The technology aims to greatly reduce the incidence of patient injuries, primarily due to loss of airway. These improved outcomes are important to the clinics performing these procedures.

This Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) Phase I project seeks to validate and further refine the design of a new medical device featuring significant articulation of a stylet/introducer. The device can quickly and intuitively maneuver through complex anatomy into a patient’s trachea. The device design utilizes high-precision, micro-components in a very small mechanism such that a small-diameter endotracheal tube may pass over the device to be secured in the patient’s trachea.

This mechanism aims to reduce the total time needed for successful intubation, to increase the rate of success on first-time attempts, to reduce incidents of loss of oxygen, to assist in intubation in emergency settings, and generally to reduce procedural injuries to patients. The project will entail creating a significant number of production-quality devices for mannequin testing. The simulation will measure reductions in procedure time and inform the design for clinical use.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.