Nuzone Medical
A Revolution Brewing in Airway Management

Back in the day, it was silly to think that man could fly, and today the sky is filled with aircraft.

Evidently, innovation is what can turn today’s impossibility to tomorrow’s fact. As we know it, innovations are fueled by a burning desire to serve and challenge the status quo. However, only a handful of products enter a market with a vision to solve a big problem. In today’s healthcare environment, with rapid advances in technology, the uncertain political landscape, changing patient consumer habits and more, it is refreshing to usher in an innovative product to the market that provides a new and better way to address a procedure that has changed very little over the years.

The combined clinical expertise of Spokane-based NuZone Medical’s founder and CEO, DanOgilvie, and Beata Zawadzka, the company’s co-founder and CFO, led to the creation of an innovative product, which has the potential to change the way clinicians manage airways—the cornerstone of anesthetic practice.

Ogilvie combined more than 30 years of experience in providing respiratory care for critically ill infants, children, and adults with Beata’s expertise stemming from over 20 years in diverse settings across the healthcare continuum to develop The Dual-Air^® Adjustable Oropharyngeal Airway. As the only airway addressing the ineffectiveness of the existing airways, The Dual-Air Adjustable Oropharyngeal Airway has been specifically designed to ensure greater comfort for the patient and improve ventilation and airway clearance. It even addresses the issue of Level of Consciousness (LOC) changes in the patient.

While the Dual-Air^® Adjustable Oropharyngeal Airway offers solutions to age-old issues the current airways have never addressed, one thing is certain: it is a game-changing product.

The Genesis of the Innovative Tool

Before delving deeper into the capabilities of The Dual- Air^®Adjustable Oropharyngeal Airway, one must travel back in time to 2010 when the American Heart Association (AHA) had started questioning out-of-hospital use of intubation in emergency medical services (EMS), stating that it hardly improves a patient’s condition, and can cause adverse effects. The AHA suggested that the placement of an Oropharyngeal Airway (OPA) before Bag-Valve Mask (BVM) ventilation should become a renewed priority. As a result, the medical industry began witnessing a market shift from tracheal intubation, which resulted in the growing popularity of oral airways. Today, after a decade, when oral airways have gained much market traction, so much so that the global airway management device market is growing at a CAGR of 5.6 percent, it is shocking to note that the design of a majority of airways in the market has remained virtually unchanged. According to a National Institute of Health(NIH) study, the standard measurement that determines the length of the oral airways—the distance from the corner of one’s ear to the corner of mouth—does not comply with 7 percent of the population. As a result, a large number of oral airways do not fit in a patient’s oral cavity. EMS are still working with a basic concept that is out of sync with reality and causes various unwanted effects such as stimulation of gag reflex, discomfort, issues with suctioning access, and more.

On a mission to overcome the inefficiencies and limitations of the existing oral airways, The Dual-Air OPAs have been designed keeping diverse aspects like suctioning access, availability, comfort, and adaptability in mind. Razor-focused on resolving the current issues in the market, the adjustable oral airway adapts to each and every patient’s oral cavity, according to their specific anatomy, and improves suctioning access, ventilation, and airway clearance. Founded in 2012, NuZone Medical has developed The Dual-Air Adjustable Oropharyngeal Airway in three sizes—adult, pediatric, and extra-large— with 5mm half steps for more exact adjustments. This allows the airway to conform to the patient rather than expecting the patient to conform to the airway. As a result, the three sizes have successfully replaced eight classes of the existing oral airways and have diminished the need for use of nasal airways since they do not stimulate a gag reflex in most patients. The airway designed for the adults can be adjusted between 70 to 100 millimeters, and its extra-large version reaches out to 120 millimeters in full length and is wider, specially designed for those who are taller or have big tongues. The pediatric group airway stretches between 50 to 70 millimeters.

All three models of these oral airways are assessment-based and can be adjusted after inserting in a patient’s mouth according to the patient’s level of consciousness (LOC) and ventilation requirement.

“There’s Gotta Be a Better Way”

Besides the adjustable features, the meticulous designing of the airways is also pathbreaking. The large ventilation port of the Dual-Air^® Adjustable Oropharyngeal Airway improves laminar airflow, thus reducing the amount of pressure needed to ventilate. This advancement decreases the amount of mask pressure needed in order to establish an adequate seal. The airway allows for easy suctioning through the ventilation port with up to an 18 Fr. suction catheter in the XLg and Adult Dual- Air, and a 14 Fr. catheter in the pediatric Dual-Air. Suctioning the airway prior to BVM ventilation is also much easier to accomplish. The slits on each side of the Dual-Air^® face not only increase ventilation but also allow for the airway to be secured with a trach/necktie or tape. In addition, the design of this airway does not allow the patient to easily push the airway out of their mouths as the older style did. From bronchoscopy, endoscopy to oral-maxillofacial surgery and post-anesthesia recovery, NuZone Medical’s innovation works equally well across various healthcare setups.

The core differentiator of the Dual-Air®Adjustable Oral Airway is its ability to be utilized in unconscious, semi-conscious, and even alert patients, because it does not stimulate a gag reflex in most patients. Designed with a palatal arch support and adjustable tongue deflector that pulls the device away from the gag receptors, the airway design creates a wedge and stays in place, making it less likely for the patients to push the airway back and forth in their mouth while in a subconscious stage, which is extremely common with the other oral airways in the market. The point where the tongue deflector meets the palatal arch support is called the “V” Channel. This channel allows for a Yaunker to easily bypass the tongue and teeth of the patient for more aggressive airway clearance.

The insertion process of the Dual-Air^®Adjustable Oropharyngeal Airway has been simplified and standardized. The tongue deflector profile is lower and does not impinge upon the soft palate until the palatal arch enters the oral cavity. NuZone Medical’s patented oropharyngeal airways also omit the issue of gag reflex in a majority of patients. Talking about these airways’ advantages in case of a drug overdose, Beata explains, “One can insert our device when the patient is unconscious and is being administered the antidote. In case he or she wakes up, the paramedic can adjust the length of the device while it is in the patient’s mouth, and the potential gag reflex goes away. Even if the patient relapses back into the unresponsive stage, the airway is already placed.” The airways also permit easy access to suction catheters. Evidently, this multi - functional adaptable product, which can also be easily secured by a Velcro head strap due to the presence of slits on each side of the airway, which can be immensely beneficial to nurses and hospitals. An added benefit: This airway brings along a tongue depressor inside the package, Ogilive jokes “if you need it, you have it, if not use it to stir your coffee”.

Despite receiving a good response from the EMS wing of various medical service providers, NuZone Medical witnessed a different picture in-house. Ogilvie states that though BVM life-supporting equipment solutions could be easily found in the patients’ rooms, the use of airways is declining. Through Dual- Air^® OPAs, he aims to promote the necessity of a pre-measured airway that should be kept in the room along with the BVM. Consequently, if a patient stops breathing, the nurse can tackle the situation immediately in the room before the arrival of the code team. Currently, the RN or RT must manage the patient’s airway without the usage of an OPA and because of this, most in-house clinicians have relied on chin-lift or jaw thrust technique to attempt to improve BVM ventilation.

Moving forward, Dual-Air^®Adjustable Oropharyngeal Airway has a unique value proposition in place. Now, it’s a matter of penetrating the market deeper. Ogilive and Beata plan to develop a second generation of their existing device that would be bigger in size and would specifically cater to various kinds of scoping procedures. They also look forward to introducing CO2 monitoring capability in NuZone Medical’s devices. In fact, during the scoping procedures, this new technology would eliminate the need of having cables connected for CO2 monitoring as the device itself would display the presence of CO2. “With our product, now you can walk by and look to determine the patient’s condition. You would be able to see the litmus or wireless readout of the CO2 to understand the patient’s respiratory status. It would also save the hospital’s time and money,” concludes Ogilvie.