iTraXS set to personalise artificial breathing support

Endotracheal tubes (ETTs) are placed in the trachea in patients who need artificial breathing support. iTraXS aims to prevent pressure injury to the airway and to assist with monitoring vital signs.

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An ETT has an inflatable, balloon-like cuff, which sits inside the trachea and forms a gas-tight seal to prevent leaks of oxygen-rich air and maintain effective ventilation. The seal also protects the lungs from contamination by vomit or blood which can lead to ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), a condition that occurs in 8-28 per cent of ventilated ICU patients and costs the NHS an average of £12,000 per episode.

If cuff pressure is too low, it can risk fluid getting past the cuff and causing VAP, but if pressure is too high it can cause pressure injury in the trachea. Pressure injuries range from moderate to severe sore throat, voice change or cough in half of all patients after surgery, to permanent scarring and narrowing of the windpipe tissue (post intubation tracheal stenosis, or PITS), which occurs in around 2000 patients annually. PITS is a disabling condition, with patients living ‘from breath to breath’ and reporting long-term adverse impact on quality of life.