SBIR Phase I:A Soft, Tip-Growing, Self-Deploying Endotracheal Tube that Enables Visualization-Free Intubation

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is a novel technology that actively intubates airway passages while reducing the risks of complications arising from difficult or failed emergency procedures.Such a procedure is often used with patients suffering from trauma, hypoxia, or cardiac arrest. The proposed soft robotic device extends from its tip, imbued with active mechanical intelligence to autonomously navigate the upper airway enabling visualization-free self-deployment.The proposed technology contrasts with current semi-rigid devices, which are pushed from the proximal base of the device by the user. This project aims to improve intubation success rates, reduce complications, and mitigate system-wide costs associated with failed airway management. Furthermore, the technology aims to reduce the navigation and placement skill sets needed to intubate patients, enabling the potential option for field personnel to safely and readily provide airway management. The product aims to capture a portion of the $2 billion annual global airway devices market, ultimately expanding the market through greater user adoption and use case options._x000D_ _x000D_ This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to demonstrate proof of concept for a self-deploying intubation device. A soft robotics system will be developed that aims to achieve a greater than90% first-pass intubation success rate. The technical measures include deploying at an effective pressure (less than20kPa), in a rapid manner (15s), with comparable forces to the tissue (less than15N) as expert-guided laryngoscopes, agnostic to user skill sets. During Phase I, design and engineering will be furthered to enable feasibility testing and product validation.The design will be optimized for efficacy, safety, and speed via iterative cadaver testing. Completion of this project will yield an operational, tip-growing, soft robotic prototype for airway intubation accounting for human variability._x000D_ _x000D_ This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.