Patent ID: 7207972

Claim:
An endotrachael tube, comprising: a tube member having a center axis; and a device operative to position the tube in a cavity of a patient, the device comprising an expandable body surrounding a portion of the tube member, the body comprising two body parts that at least partially enclose a single continuous inner space, each body part comprising a contact surface operative to engage a wall of the cavity in an expanded state, each contact surface extending about the center axis, the body further comprising a depression surrounding the tube member between the two body parts and extending into the inner space, wherein the body is expandable by supplying a fluid to the inner space such that the fluid in the inner space has a working pressure, wherein in an unexpanded state the body is insertable into the cavity and in the expanded state the contact surfaces abut the wall of the cavity, wherein in the expanded state the body extends a greater distance in a direction parallel to the center axis of the tube member in the vicinity of the contact surface as compared to in the vicinity of the tube member, such that the two body parts form respective elastically bendable levers, thereby resulting in the body exerting a substantially constant contact pressure on the wall of the cavity independent of variations in the working pressure of the fluid within a normal working range.