Potentially life–saving in an airway emergency, especially when the Heimlich maneuver fails.
Designed in 1970 (!) by Ronald J. French, an American otolaryngologist, it took over a quarter–century until Prestige Products began manufacturing it in 1996.
56 years later, I've yet to see an ad for it or any other sign that this remarkable device exists.
It's a tracheotomy kit that can be conveniently carried on a key ring.
Simple, elegant, and powerful in its ability to save a life.
As a rule, emergency tracheotomies don't work very well for two reasons:
1) They're not performed until the individual's already had a cardiac arrest.
2) The design and function of existing emergency trach kits leave much to be desired.
Dr. French's device won't help with the first problem but it darn sure might with the second.
Hope I never get a chance to use mine — if I do, you'll read about it here.
$130.
Note: it will likely be confiscated byTSA/airport security if you try to carry it on a plane, so you need to put it in your checked baggage.
Sure would be a shame and a terrible irony if someone on that flight obstructed, eh?
I had one years ago. I think you might even have featured this before. Been on multiple flights with this thing hanging out the side of my handcarry between Melbourne and Sydney. Never been stopped or questioned once!
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed: I did feature this before — in 2005!!! Maybe they do things differently in Australia; I do believe here in the U.S. it would be confiscated. $130 is too much to leave it to a TSA agent's whimsy/mood.
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