Artificial External Glottic Device for Passive Lung Insufflation

Patients with neuromuscular disease often require air stacking to inflate their lungs, but those with glottic dysfunction or tracheostomies cannot do this effectively. This study introduces a device to help these patients. An artificial external glottic device (AEGD) was developed to permit passive deep lung insufflation in patients who cannot air stack effectively due to bulbar muscle weakness or tracheostomies. The AEGD provides external control of an artificial glottic opening and closure, effectively substituting for a dysfunctional glottis to facilitate air stacking.

• 1
  For 30 patients whose MICs were initially zero, the use of the AEGD allowed measurable lung insufflation capacity (LICA) for all patients.
• 2
  The mean LICA with the AEGD was 1,622.7±526.8 mL, demonstrating the device's effectiveness in facilitating lung insufflation.
• 3
  Even for the remaining 7 patients who could air stack to some extent, the LICA with AEGD (1,862.9±248 mL) was significantly greater than their MIC (1,084.3±259.9 mL).