Launched at CES 2025 by St. Ives, Cambridgeshire-based 42 Technology (42T), LARi is said to integrate seamlessly into an anaesthetist’s existing workflow, while providing a real-time video feed of the entire intubation process to help navigate difficult airways and ensure proper placement in the patient’s trachea.
Craig Townsend, director of healthcare at 42 Technology, explained that intubating a patient before surgery or in an emergency setting to secure their airway, requires an anaesthetist to first use a laryngoscope to hold the patient’s tongue out of the way so they can see the vocal cords and entrance to the trachea.
“They then pass an endotracheal tube [ETT] through the vocal cords into the trachea,” he said. “However, as the ETT is flexible anaesthetists typically use a malleable metal stylet, which they pre-shape to fit the patient’s airway anatomy, to stiffen the ETT for easier insertion. Once the tube is in the correct position, the stylet is removed.”
Townsend continued: “LARi has been specifically designed as a low cost, single use device that works in exactly the same way as conventional stylets but with a real-time video feed function to provide an uninterrupted view from the end of the ETT to help with fast, accurate tube placement.”
He added that LARi removes the need for additional instruments such as bronchoscopes to help with correct ETT placement.
“A clinician pre-shapes the LARi stylet to conform to the patient’s anatomy, just as they would do with a standard one,” said Townsend. “But unlike endoscopes and other currently available video stylets, users don’t need to control the tip once it’s inserted because it naturally follows the clinician’s pre-shaped path.”
MORE FROM MEDICAL & HEALTHCARE
Alternative systems are designed to function more like endoscopes, requiring clinicians to flex and guide the tip of the ETT manually within the patient. Townsend said that these systems do not fit into an anaesthetist’s normal workflow, and the instruments typically have reusable components that carry a risk of cross-contamination, as well as needing complex reprocessing.
The video stylet camera does not require an anti-fogging coating as it’s embedded within the silicone coating of the stylet. Townsend added that LARi’s camera specifications include an effective pixel resolution of 1280(H) x 720(V); a 110° field of view; and an electronic rolling shutter operating at 30fps.
LARi is being developed with Turning Mode, an innovation lab for healthcare and medical devices. Having shown their first working prototype at CES 2025, the two companies are now actively looking for development partners to help bring LARi to market.
IEA report shows nuclear sector booming despite costs
Delays, in the UK, over approval of nuclear, seem to be the major issue (such as for SMRs). The report is about market finance and does not address...