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IMAGE: In 1990, Purdue University professor George Wodicka conceived of a medical device that gives clinicians vital information to make more informed, life-saving decisions for their smallest patients. view more
Credit: Purdue University photo/John Underwood
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. If a newborn is moved or becomes agitated while on a ventilator, the breathing tube also could move. Just a few seconds with the tube in the wrong position might lead to a critical lack of oxygen to the brain, possibly resulting in lifelong disability or brain damage or even ending the baby s life.
The incident is far too common. Unplanned extubation - when a breathing tube accidentally becomes dislodged from the trachea - affects 75,000, or about one in five, newborns on ventilators each year, an analysis by Premier Data Services found. A medical device born out of Purdue University could save these babies lives by helping to keep their breathing tubes at the correct depth.