Olifant Medical, Inc. SBIR Phase I Award, March 2020

Each year millions of patients will have a breathing tube, known as an endotracheal tube (ETT) inserted into their trachea in order to assist with ventilation or to protect their airway. The procedure is called endotracheal intubation (ETI), and thousands who undergo it will experience death or other serious complications as a result of operator difficulty and error. ETI is a complex procedure that requires considerable skill. An improperly placed tube can deprive a patient of oxygen and can rapidly lead to death. Emergency circumstances, such as trauma and austere conditions as in combat, make ETI riskier and more difficult. ETI error rates during emergency airway management in military and civilian settings remain unacceptably high. In the combat casualty care setting, airway interventions represent one of the most commonly missed and incorrectly performed life-saving procedures. Olifant Medical has analyzed the anatomic, ergonomic, and dexterity challenges that vex operators during ETI. We then applied a user-driven design process resulting in the development of a novel ETT insertion technology that aims to help providers perform ETI easier, faster, safer, and with greater confidence. Our technology is applicable to both conventional and video laryngoscopy, military and civilian settings, and emergency or elective circumstances.