Patent ID: 7794412

Claim:
An instrument for indicating a force being applied to the cricoid cartilage of a patient, which comprises: a) a housing member adapted to allow the instrument to be grasped in a single hand of a user, the housing member including a base portion with finger grip recesses on an anterior surface and a posterior arcuate surface with a concave recess adapted for engagement with a user's thenar eminence when the base portion is being grasped; b) an arcuate yoke affixed to a rod, the rod being slidably supported by the housing member and said yoke shaped and dimensioned to engage the cricoid cartilage of the patient; c) means in the housing engaged by the rod for generating an electrical signal proportional to an amount of force applied by the user to the patient's cricoid cartilage through the yoke; and d) means on the housing responsive to the signal for displaying the amount of force applied to the patient's cricoid cartilage.