US Patent 8038629 Digital endotracheal tube sound acquisition and localization device

An apparatus and method for determining proper endotreachal placement is disclosed. The apparatus includes an audio receiver having a body, a microphone mount in a center thereof the body and an audio cavity, an audio processing unit; and a signal cable connected at a first end to the microphone and at a second end, where the receiver is adapted to be positioned in a suprasternal notch of a patient and the acoustic signal detected after inflation of a balloon associated with an endotracheal tube. The method uses the apparatus to detect and analyze an audio signal. The audio signal is then used to confirm endotracheal tube placement.