Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
EMERGENC~ CRICOTH~ROI~OTOMY INSTRU~/iENT
BACKQROUND OF THE INVFNTIO~T
. _ _ _ _
1. _ielc] of the Invention
This invention r elates to an instrument for performing an
5 emergency cricothyroidotomy to preveot a person from choking to
death when a foreign object i9 lodged in the throat or when severe
trauma occurs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Choking is a relatively frequent cause of death which
10 occurs when a piece of food or foreign matter lodges in the throat
causing suffocation. Trauma can also cause blockage of the throat in
which case breathing will be severely limited or stopped. In the past
when a person is choking, removal of the object lodged in the throat
has been effected by a hard slap on the back, physically pulling out
15 the object with the fingers or by the Heimlich maneuver which requires
a person to stand behind the person who is choking and wrap their
arms around the victim 's abdomen just below the ribs and with a
quick, hard jerk, force the air from the victim's lungs which will,
hopefully, eject the object which is lodged in the throat. However,
20 these procedures are not always successful in which case a person
can die from suffocation caused by choking.
In hospitals and in out-p&tient care centers a traeheotomy
may be performed by trained medical personnel to create an airway
to the trachea when a person is ehoking. However, traeheotomies
25 per se are not designed to be performed away from hospitals or
similar environments.
A need exists for a simple !ifesaving instrurr~ent for victims
who fail to respond to a slap on the back or to the Heimlieh maneuver
and who are not in the immediate proximity of a hospital where a
30 tracheotomy can be performed. Military and civilian medical personnel
are taught to perform emergency cricothyroidotomy by using available
instruments as a pen knife, a fountain pen, a pencil or even a small
stick with a pointed end to form an airway ~mtil a tracheotomy can
be performed or the object is surgically or manually removed. In
,5 this procedure a hole is punched in the trachea through the skin
below the cricothyroid artery in the cricothyroid s~artilage area. This
~8~
-2-
hole allows the victim to breathe until the foreign object is removed
from the throa~ or until the trauma situation no longer exists~
SUMMARY OF THE INVEN'I`ION
~ cricothyroidotomy instrument comprising an elongated
needle and a needle holder~ The needle has a sharp point on one
end, a longitlldinal passage extending from the end with the sharp
point to the opposite end and means on the exterior surface of the
needle for engagingr the needle holder~ The needle holder has separable
sections, and each section has a face to abut the face of the outer
section. Means on the abutting faces oî the sections for contacting
the means on the exterior surface of the needle to hold the needle in
the needle holder, and means to retairl the separable sections in a
closed relationship with the abutting faces clamping the needle in the
needle holder. Means on the needle holder for attaching the needle
holder to a patient's neck.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWIN~S
Fig. 1 is an elevation of the needle holder with a needle
clamped therein;
Fig. 2 is a section on line II-II of Fig. l; and
Fig. 3 is an elevation of a needle.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT~
The needle 1 will vary in size for a child and for an adult
siæe. The needle has an air passage 2 which extends longitudinally
throughout the length of the needle from the end with a sharpened
point 3 to the end formed with a flange 4. The diameter of passsage
2 will vary from about 1.5 millimeters to approximately ~.0 millimeters,
and the overall length of the needle will vary from approximately 25
millimeters to 50 millimeters. The passage through the needle may
be either oval in cross section as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 or cylindrical
in cross section as shown in Fig. 3, and it will be understood by
those skilled in the art that a passage with an oval cross section will
permit a greater amount of air to pass through the needle. A plurality
of individual spaced annular beads 5 is formed on the exterior surface
of the needle in an area approximately equal spaced between point 3
and flange 4. These individual beads cooperate with the needle holder
in the manner shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings to hold the needle in
3 position at the proper depth in a person's trachea. Ad~justment of
the depth of penetr&tion of the needle in the trachefl may be required
according to the size and muscle structure of the patient, and such
adjlIstment is made possibie by providing the needle with beads 5 in a
manner expiained hereinafter.
Point 3 of needle I must be extremely sharp ;n order to
perrnit easy puncture and penetration through the skin, cartiia~e and
other tissues into the trnchea. Flange 4 is approximately 10 rrillimeters
in diarneter and prevents needle 1 from fully penetrating the slcin
and/or trachea and serves as a thumb r est to insert needle l into the
10 trachea. Additionally, flange 4 permits a resuscitating air bag or a
human mouth to be placed on the outer end of needle 1 to force air
through passage 2 into the trachea, if such is necessary.
A needle holder 10 may be made of either plastic or metal
and has an elongated hinge 11 at one end to permit sections 12 and
15 13 to be pivotaily separated so that the needle holder may be clamped
around a needle aiter it is inserted in the trachea. A mechanical
catch or latch 14 is formed on the end of the needle holder opposite
the end carrying hinge 11 to clamp sections 12 and 13 in position
around a needle after the needle holder is placed on the needle and
20 seetions 12 and 13 are closed. A magnetic catch may also be used
to hold sections 12 and 13 in the closed position. The needle holder
is provided with flanges or hasps 15 on the side faces of the needle
holder, and a pair of straps 1~ or a unitary elastic band is attached
to hasps 15. When the needlc holder is in position, straps 16 are tied
25 behind the patien t's neck or the elastic band is fitted around the
back of the patient's neck to hold the needle holder in position. The
abutting surfaces of sections 12 and 13 are formed with a pluraiity
of annular grooves 17 which receive beads 5 on the exterior surface
of the needle. As will be seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings, beads 5
30 and annular grooves 17 are equally spaced the same distance apart in
order to permit the pOSitiOIl of the needle to be adjusted when the
needle holder is piaced around the needle. If necessary, one or more
beads 5 may be located outside of needle holder 10. The lower
surface of the needle holder is formed with a contoured area 1~ to
35 embrace a patient's neck.
The needle hoider will be about one to two inches in
length depending upon whether it is adult size or child size and the
width will be between one inch and two inches. The needle hoider
will be about three quarters of an inch th;ck.
In operations the irIstrument is inserted through the patient's
skin in to the trachea. The needle will pass through the cricothyroid
5 car tilage and into the trachea but should not be forced in so far as
to go completely through the trachea. After the rIeedle is inserted,
the patient can breathe normally through the passage in the needle or
by forced breathing, if necessary. Once the needle is satisfactorily
placed in the trachea, the needle holder is piaced around the needle
10 and clamped securely to the needle. The needle holder is then
fastened around the patient's neck with either an elastic band or ties,
and the patient may then be tr ansported to a hospital without fear of
suffocation.
Suffocation from choking in the home or in a restaurant
15 may be prevented by performing an emergency cricothyroidotomy with
the instrument of the invention. Choking caused by trauma from
vehicular and other accidents may also be avoided by using the instrument
by police and emergency medical personnel. The instrument may be
used on numerous occasions by military personnel, emergency medical
20 technicians, hospital emergency room personnel and by industrial and
school nurses.
While preferred embodiments of the invention have been
described herein, it is to be understood that they may be embodied
within the scope of the appended claims.
