A new piece of technology can save the life of patients who, for various reasons, require assistance with breathing. It is a portable carbon dioxide detector, so small that it fits into a breast pocket, which quickly sets off an alarm if there is something wrong with the exhaled air. This technology has proved to be valuable in emergency situations, ambulance transportation, operations or transfers between hospital departments where fixed monitoring equipment is not available.

The new colorimetric measuring instrument has been developed by a research team at Gibeck, a Swedish medico-technical company which is well-established internationally in the fields of anaesthetics and intensive care. The carbon dioxide detector is based on the company's patented Colibri technology and shows the carbon dioxide content in each breath through momentary colour changes.
If everything is functioning properly the indicator changes from blue (negligible quantity of carbon dioxide) to yellow (content of at least four percent). If, on the other hand it shows dark green, green or yellowish-green this indicates that there is imminent danger.
The new technology is so simple that it does not need specialist medical skill to use it. It is also light and easy to put into an emergency bag, easy to connect directly to breathing apparatus, as well as being robust and reliable as demonstrated in several independent clinic trials.
Professor of medicine Michael Frass of the University Hospital in Vienna has, for example, tested it on around 150 patients, both children and adults, and the carbon dioxide detector immediately responded when an anaesthetic mask was not fitted tightly, a larynx mask was defective and in the case of incorrect intubation when an endotracheal tube had accidentally ended up in the oesophagus instead of in the respiratory tract.
Every doctor will try to ensure that the patient always has adequate ventilation, and measuring the carbon dioxide content in the respiratory gases is without doubt one of the most reliable methods in intubation, according to Michael Frass.

Reduces the risks
Carbon dioxide monitoring is now a common method of reducing the risks in artificial respiration. In many countries it is a requirement as faults in apparatus and tube systems sometimes occur - a connection can start to leak or a tube can become loose, which can have dangerous consequences if this is not detected.
Standardly used in connection with this is the capnograph, an electrical measuring instrument for carbon dioxide, which is, however, bulky and expensive to acquire. Nearly all patients in Northern Europe who are connected to a respirator or ventilator are monitored with a capnograph, but during transfers within and outside the hospital this technology is often lacking.
The colorimetric measuring instruments developed earlier on as a complement or alternative to the standard equipment all had the problem of a very short service life and that the chemical process stopped with it came into contact with moist exhaled air.
Gibeck's researchers have now succeeded in changing the chemical structure so that the carbon dioxide detector is affected by neither moist nor anaesthetic gases. The service life of the detector in continuous measuring has been extended to 24 hours, and the detector reacts so quickly that it can record the carbon dioxide content in up to 50 breaths per minute.
In heart and lung resuscitation the carbon dioxide detector provides a good picture of how the resuscitation attempt is progressing. If the carbon dioxide level gradually increases and the Colibri's colour scale goes in the right direction, this is confirmation that cardiac massage has restarted the blood circulation and thereby vital gas exchange in the lungs. In the same way an unchanged blue or dark green colour can indicate that it is time to stop the resuscitation attempt.

Caption 1: The Colibri technology has proved its worth in emergencies, for example during transportation by ambulance.

Caption 2: In the event of cardiac arrest the carbon dioxide detector provides a good picture of how the resuscitation attempt is progressing. If the carbon dioxide level increases gradually this confirms that the cardiac massage has restarted the blood circulation.

For further information contact:
Anders Möllstam, marketing manager at Gibeck's subsidiary Icor
Ulvsundavägen 178 B, 168 67 Bromma, Sweden
Tel.: +46 8 764 59 00. Fax: +46 8 98 28 75

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