Abstract: An improved tracheal tube cuff for protection of the lungs against aspiration injury and for improved continuous oxygen administration is presented. The low pressure inflatable cuff of this invention attaches to the endotracheal end of a tube and can be placed within the trachea either transorally or through a tracheostomy. The cuff is approximately a pair of inverted paraboloids precisely located on the tube so that upon inflation or expansion under low pressure, the tube will open against the tracheal wall forming a proximal seal against aspirated substances and will open distally beyond the end of the tube to create a seal to gaseous substances under varying pressures such as, but not exclusively, oxygen.

Abstract: The invention is an improved tracheostomy tube for providing a reliable airway for patients requiring mechanical assistance in breathing, without the complications of prolonged tracheostomy that are present in current tracheostomy tube devices. The present invention makes tracheostomy a safer modality of care with four distinctive features in the configuration. The four distinctive features are (1) a precision cuff fitted to each trachea; (2) a flexible tube that will conform to any depth of the trachea within the neck; (3) a self-locking clip that adjusts the tube securely to any neck regardless of the depth of the trachea; and (4) a malleable but rigid obturator for ease of insertion. These four features comprise the structure of the improved tracheostomy tube, being (1) a flexible tube, (2) an encircling pressure cuff, (3) a removably insertable malleable obturator, and (4) a self-locking neck plate to secure the tube to the neck.

Abstract: The invention is an improved tracheostomy tube for providing a reliable airway for patients requiring mechanical assistance in breathing, without the complications of prolonged tracheostomy that are present in current tracheostomy tube devices. The present invention makes tracheostomy a safer modality of care with four distinctive features in the configuration. The four distinctive features are (1) a precision cuff fitted to each trachea; (2) a flexible tube that will conform to any depth of the trachea within the neck; (3) a self-locking clip that adjusts the tube securely to any neck regardless of the depth of the trachea; and (4) a malleable but rigid obturator for ease of insertion. These four features comprise the structure of the improved tracheostomy tube, being (1) a flexible tube, (2) an encircling pressure cuff, (3) a removably insertable malleable obturator, and (4) a self-locking neck plate to secure the tube to the neck.