Verathon Inc. Partners With Parker Medical To Provide GlideRite Endotracheal Tubes
Bothell, WA — Verathon Inc. recently announced a strategic alliance with Parker Medical to distribute the GlideRite™ endotracheal tube with patented Parker Flex-Tip® technology, which is designed to reduce the risk of damage to the patient's airway anatomy during intubation. GlideRite Tracheal Tubes and the GlideScope® Video Laryngoscope (GVL®) system work together to help minimize patient airway trauma and facilitate fast and easy intubation, even in difficult airways.
"We are excited to partner with Parker Medical to distribute the GlideRite endotracheal tube," said Gerald McMorrow, CEO, Founder and Chairman of the Board of Verathon Inc. "Together, the GlideRite endotracheal tubes and our GlideScope Video Laryngoscopes can help anesthesiologists meet the challenge of intubating even difficult airways in a manner that minimizes trauma to the patient."
"The use of our Flex-Tip tubes together with the GlideScope to facilitate the ease, speed, accuracy, and safety of intubation represents a synergistic combination that we expect will advance the state of the art," said Dr. Jeffrey Parker, Chairman and CEO of Parker Medical. "We welcome Verathon's recognition of the unique advantages of our tubes and the opportunity to utilize their full potential by combining them with an extraordinary video laryngoscope such as the GlideScope. The union of these two technologies will benefit medical professionals responsible for intubation and their patients."
Endotracheal tubes (ETTs) are considered the gold standard for airway management because they provide the most effective seal for the trachea, thus allowing the lungs to be inflated with higher ventilatory pressures and preventing aspiration of airway contaminants into the patient's lungs. However, insertion of conventional ETTs may be associated with trauma to the vocal cords and adjacent structures in the throat. Clinical studies indicate that as many as 86% of patients show evidence of laryngeal trauma following endotracheal intubation.
The GlideRite features the soft and flexible Parker Flex-Tip, which is designed to flex and slide past anatomical structures that it encounters in the airway and has been shown to reduce the risk of tube tip hang-ups on the patient's airway anatomy during intubation. The patented Flex-Tip is centered and tapered, conforming to the central symmetry of the epiglottis and glottic opening, to facilitate smooth passage of the ETT through the larynx and into the trachea. Dual Murphy eyes (lateral openings at the distal tip of the tube) are another unique feature of the GlideRite. GlideRite is available in a wide range of sizes and styles.
Designed for "1st Pass Success," the GlideScope Video Laryngoscope (GVL) provides a clear picture of the larynx and vocal cords on a display monitor to facilitate proper ETT placement, even in difficult airways. GlideScope features a patented 50 to 60 degree viewing range, integrated camera, and patented anti-fogging mechanism, and is clinically proven to provide a C/L Grade I or II view 99% of the time. Because GlideScope does not require "line of sight" for view and takes less force to position, it is a significant improvement over the traditional direct laryngoscope widely used for this purpose. Traditional direct laryngoscopes rely on "line of sight" viewing that requires neck flexion, head extension, laryngeal depression and other movements that can cause stress to patients.
An estimated 40 million anesthesia procedures are administered each year in the United States, and in many of these cases it is necessary for anesthesia and emergency specialists to place an endotracheal tube to control respiration. The reported incidence of airways which are difficult to intubate with traditional direct laryngoscopes ranges up to 13%.
SOURCE: Verathon Inc.