Disposable Blades Q&A
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GreenLite™ & Lite-Blade™ Slims
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Question: |
Posted 17-March-08
Can you answer a quick question for me ? I am very concerned about the common use of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) in all sorts of products. I know that this material is dangerous to human health and the environment throughout its entire life cycle, at the factory, in our homes and in the trash.. Do either your GreenLite™ or your Lite-blade™ Slims range of disposable blades contain any PVC in them. Sherri C. USA |
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Answer: |
Posted 17-March-08
No, we are also aware of the dangers of PVC and will not use it in any of our products. Lite Blade™ Slims are manufactured from a very strong plastic ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). It is very important that plastic disposable blade have a lot of tensile strength and cannot break in the middle of an intubation when a lot of force is applied to the blade. The light guide in our GreenLite™ range is manufactured out of very high quality acrylic plastic to allow the maximum light transfer between the xenon light source in the handle and the tip of the light guide. |
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Question: |
Posted 04-April-08
How is tensile strength measured and is there any difference between re-usable and disposable blades ? Charles A. Baltimore, USA |
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Answer: |
Posted 05-April-08
Strength and stiffness of laryngoscopes are defined mainly by their strength and flexibility when a force is applied to the tip of the blade (or at a defined distance from the tip) and parallel to the axis of the handle. In the current ISO 7376 (the International Standard that governs laryngoscope design) there is no clear definition of the maximal value of this force and its corresponding displacement. However, in the proposed ISO 7376 new draft that is presently in committee stage, the test force has been clearly defined as 65N and all blades whether for single use or for reusable use must withstand this force. The British National Health Service recently issued even more stringent testing rules that require blade tips to withstand axial forces of 150 N . This force is at least 50 % more than any expected intubation force.
All our metal single use blades (GreenLite™, EquipLite™ and Trulite™) conform to these NHS requirements as do all of our re-usable blades (GreenspeX™, Shucman ™and Equip™) Evgeny Pecherer: Head of New Products and Engineering, technic@truphatek.com |
TruLite™
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Question: |
Posted 18-March-08 Are there any clinical advantages to using LED light illumination over current xenon bulb ? Joshua R, Mumbai |
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Answer: |
Posted 18th March-08
Allow me to provide some information on this matter which is currently gaining importance amongst clinicians. I have attached herewith a copy of a research based poster presented at the European Society of Anesthesiology (ESA) meeting in Munich in June 2007. This also appeared in Paediatric Anaesthesia, Vol. 17, June 2007, pp 606-607(2) as a prize winning research paper. Optimal spectral irradiance for laryngoscopy
Dr. E. Lewis quotes “ Infra red light has been shown to be detrimental to optimal laryngoscopy……. Blue light corresponds to peak haemoglobin absorption (415 nm) and therefore enhances the view of capillary vessels within the surface mucosa. … …Green light defines deeper structures more clearly. Specific combinations of blue and green light spectra may provide the best conditions for intubation. Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have the advantage of producing light in a more appropriate part of the spectrum”. Dr. Lewis further concludes that “….. laryngoscopes with LEDs may provide superior intubating conditions than that currently available with incandescent light sources. LEDs can be further modified to emit the optimal spectral irradiance required for laryngoscopy. This may prove invaluable when presented with a difficult airway. “ Accordingly, Truphatek has incorporated the LED as the preferred light source into the Truview EVO Infant blade for pediatric intubation; in the Tru-LED green system ergonomically designed rechargeable handle and in the latest product from our development department – the Tru-Lite disposable combination blade and handle. Further, it is our intention to continue to incorporate the use of LEDs to provide optimal intubating conditions into all future Truphatek products. I hope this information helps you and your customers to choose the best products to meet their clinical needs. Cynthia Yaakovi International Marketing and Sales Manager Truphatek International Ltd. sales@truphatek.com |
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Posted 15-April-08
Is the TruLite disposable blade-handle combination really strong enough to perform emergency intubations? Just how rugged is it? Submitted by EMS Paramedic, USA |
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Posted 17-April-08
The strength and stiffness of laryngoscopes are defined mainly by their strength and flexibility under the force applied to the tip (or at certain distance from it) and parallel to the axis of the handle. In previous versions of the industry standard known as ‘ISO7376’ and ‘ASTM’ there were no clear definitions of maximal value of this force and the corresponding displacement. In the most updated recent draft of ‘ISO 7376’ soon to be adopted there are defined the test force at 65N and the corresponding maximal permissible value of displacement of the tip (that is, flexibility). The standards will apply to both single-use and multiple-use laryngoscope blades . All Truphatek metal single-use and multiple-use blades comply to the requirements now laid out in the industry standard. Certain industry bodies, such as the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, have defined even more adverse test conditions for their comparative evaluation testing of the numerous laryngoscopes currently available on the market. . The NHS is testing laryngoscope blades under axial force of 150N; that is at least 50% more than maximal real intubation force. All Truphatek metal single-use and multiple-use blades were tested under these extreme conditions and were found to conform to the requirements. Cynthia Yaakovi International Marketing and Sales Manager Truphatek International Ltd. |
