Puncturing system for a safer tracheostomy

The invention describes a monitoring and puncturing system configured to enable the physician to reliably and precisely identify the entry point and trajectory of the puncturing instrument even in patients with a challenging anatomy such as obese tissue, goiter, a short neck and displacement of the trachea. The major advantage of PDT over the open surgical tracheostomy (OST) is that it can be performed at the patient's bedside, while an OST must be performed in an operating room. Determining the entry point and the trajectoryof the puncturing device for a PDT can be complicated by the patient‘s anatomy, which is why the treating physician often chooses the more time consuming, expensive and invasive OST in these cases.

The innovative system allows for reliably and precisely identifying the correct puncture site for a PDT. A variable magnetic field is generated by a field generator. Magnetic sensors are attached both to the puncturing device and to an endoscopic instrument, whichis positioned in the region of the cranial end of the patient‘s trachea during the procedure. The relative positions of the magnetic sensors - and thus the relative positions of the puncturing device and of the endoscopic instrument - can be reliably determined and visualized to the physician.

- Easy to use puncturing and monitoring system for a PDT

- Minimizes the risk of severe or even fatal complications

Proof of concept, TRL 4