Quest for an Ideal Intubating Device

Abstract

 The first scientific report of tracheal intubation and artificial respiration is attributed to Vesalius, who in 1543 performed this in animals.1 The first perioperative use of tracheal intubation was described by Macewen in 1880 to prevent aspiration during the removal of a tumor from the base of the tongue. However, regular perioperative use of tracheal intubation in anesthetized patients started only in the early 1900s.2 Until then, even oral surgery was performed without a definitive airway, thus predisposing patients to the risk of aspiration. As the use of tracheal tubes and intubation gained popularity, a proportional need to develop equipment that could help in placing a tracheal tube into the trachea arose. In 1913, Chevalier Jackson reported a high rate of success for the use of direct laryngoscopy as a means to intubate the trachea