Mergenet Medical out of Coconut Creek, Florida launched the Trach-Assist airway secretion management system. The company claims its device will “significantly reduce the need for ventilator circuit changes.”
The Trach-Assist (R) is designed for use between a endotracheal/tracheostomy tube and a closed suction system. The airway secretions are collected in a special reservoir of the Trach-Assist (R) allowing clinicians to easily remove them with the installed closed suction catheter without breaking the circuit. Circuit “breaks” have been identified as major risk factors of Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) as well as lung de-recruitment and hypoxemia.
Product page: Trach Assist
Press release: Mergenet Medical Launches Trach-Assist(R) First Airway Secretion Management System of Its Kind