Disposable device clears the airways

Many medical devices have evolved dramatically in the past 60 years, but the standard laryngoscope used to guide tubes into patients’ airways has not been one of them.

That is until a Sydney anaesthetist teamed up with a toolmaker to create a single-use airways device; which he now hopes will become the laryngoscope of choice.

Driven by the need for safer clinical practice, Dr Kevin Yee and his business partner Mark Bennett designed a disposable version of the original McIntosh laryngoscope, which was first pioneered in the 1940’s.

The now all-in-one, throwaway tool – dubbed the ‘Yeescope’ – is a step-up from the current alternative, which consists of a disposable blade attached to a reusable handle.

“Myself and my colleagues have noticed a lot of problems with the disposable blades,” Dr Yee says.

“Sometimes the light doesn’t come on, sometimes the blade doesn’t couple properly to the existing handle and often the blade is folded back against the handle, which could lead to cross-contamination when a new blade is attached to a contaminated handle.

“We’re much more aware of the microbiological environment in which we practice than we have been in the past, and we know the safe, sterile instruments are essential.”

The Yeescope has been available to Australian hospitals since December and will soon be incorporated into ‘intubation kits’ for surgeries and paramedics, Dr Yee said.

“It’s now being used in a few hospitals in Sydney and Victoria so we’ll see how it goes.” he said.

Kylie Walker