Fibre Optic Endotracheal Tube Placement Sensor

By placing an endotracheal tube in the oesophagus, a patient loses their ability to exchange gases sufficiently. This error can happen at rates as high as 1/18, and will not cause long lasting medical complications if resolved within a few seconds. It is when this error goes unnoticed and there is a delay in diagnoses so that hypoxic and hypercapnic damage sets in. If this is correctly diagnosed, the tracheal tube can be moved from the oesophagus to the trachea; oxygen can be replenished in the body and carbon dioxide removed.