Autonomous Airway Management

Energid Technologies is developing an ultra-lightweight, portable, rugged, mechatronic device capable of performing autonomous and semi-autonomous (assistive) endotracheal intubation (ETI) on all patients, including those suffering from trauma. Energid’s device is a battery powered, self-contained handheld unit capable of safely delivering an endotracheal tube into a patient’s airway in less than 30 seconds. To ensure portability, the device will have the approximate dimensions and weight of a beverage bottle. The device uses Energid’s proprietary machine vision algorithms to direct a novel, flexible manipulator inside the patient’s airway. The system sub-components can themselves be used as assistive technologies both for ETI vision feedback and manual ETI. The device will be capable of performing at least 10 intubations on a single battery charge. The system will be tested in an instrumented airway phantom, and through animal and human cadaveric studies in collaboration with anesthesiologists and trauma surgeons at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).