University of Nottingham
  
2017 News

Endotracheal tub close up with light on

Avoiding Tracheal damage and Ventilator-associated Pneumonia

In collaboration with medical device company P3 Medical and anaesthetists from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, we have successfully completed our first in human studies.

The design of the inflatable cuff that provides the seal around the tube affects the likelihood of causing injury. Our iTraXS (intra tracheal multiplexed sensing) tube has incorporated optical fibre sensors into the cuffs of the tube which can measure pressure and blood flow, humidity, temperature and biofilm thickness.

We aim to be able to optimise the level of inflation of the seal of the endotracheal tube to avoid damaging the trachea and reduce the incidence of pneumonia.

For more information about this project, see the links below:

Optical fibre sensing at the interface between tissue and medical device

Optical fibre sensing during critical care