Patent ID: 8905029

Claim:
A system comprising: an endotracheal tube having a proximal end and a distal end configured to inserted into a patient's airway; an inflatable cuff disposed about the distal end of the endotracheal tube, wherein the inflatable cuff is configured to form a seal with a wall of the patient's airway; a carbon dioxide sensor configured to produce an output related to carbon dioxide concentration at a location in the patient's airway proximal to the inflatable cuff; a cuff pressure sensor configured to produce an output, wherein the output comprises a direct measurement of an intracuff pressure of the inflatable cuff; a cuff pressure regulator configured to change the inflation of the cuff based at least in part on the output from the carbon dioxide sensor and the output from the cuff pressure sensor; a controller operatively coupled to the cuff pressure regulator and configured to determine whether the inflatable cuff is properly inflated and whether the inflatable cuff properly placed in the patient's airway based at least in part upon the output from the carbon dioxide sensor and the output from the cuff pressure sensor, wherein the controller is configured to: cause the cuff pressure regulator to add air to the inflatable cuff in response to a determination that the intracuff pressure is less than a predetermined low pressure threshold; cause the cuff pressure regulator to add air to the inflatable cuff in response to a determination that the intracuff pressure does not violate a threshold and the carbon dioxide concentration is greater than a predetermined carbon dioxide threshold; cause the cuff pressure regulator to remove air from the inflatable cuff in response to a determination that the intarcuff pressure is greater than a predetermined high pressure threshold and the carbon dioxide concentration is less than the predetermined carbon dioxide threshold; and trigger an alarm that is triggered if in response to a determination that the inflatable cuff is misplaced in the patient's airway, wherein the controller is configured to determine that the inflatable cuff is misplaced in response to a determination that the intracuff pressure is above the predetermined high pressure threshold and the carbon dioxide concentration in the airway is greater than the predetermined carbon dioxide threshold; and an information element disposed on the endotracheal tube, wherein the information element comprises stored data related to the inflatable cuff, the predetermined high pressure threshold, and the predetermined carbon dioxide threshold.