Through our partnership with Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, we identified their urgent need for an innovative piece of equipment in their Intensive Care Unit. It is very difficult to safely intubate a patient with COVID-19, because of the risk of infection.
Videolaryngoscopy (VL) utilises video camera technology to facilitate endotracheal intubation (ETI). In simpler language, this is a C-MAC device with a video camera on the end that looks down into an airway. It projects the image of the airway onto a screen and guides how the doctor places the tube into the airway. By allowing this more distanced but highly accurate intubation, it is much safer for doctors, nurses and patients.
It is, however, expensive: around £35,000 per unit. Fortunately, through our relationship with a charitable foundation, we were able to facilitate the purchase of this equipment for the hospital.
The Videolaryngoscopy unit in operation