A tulip a day to open your airway

CHENNAI: When he was 7 years-old, his father taught him how to resuscitate a person. At first, Dr Amer Shaikh was befuddled. Much later, he understood that his father had a heart problem and if he collapsed, CPR could be the only answer to “keep him alive in the ten odd minutes that an ambulance takes”. Decades later, as the inventor of the TULIP Airway, a device that is believed to be a superior oral airway that can help with all first-line medical problems related to breathing and the airway, he says that it all began with the CPR training. “Over other oropharyngeal airways, the TULIP is so easy that even a seven year-old can use it with minimal training,” he said, illustrating how most often only elderly aunts or young children seem to be around when emergencies occur at home.Where TULIP is believed to score over the competition, and it is readily apparent at sight, is its design. Sleek yet firm, it has an adjustable shaft that is a ‘one size fits all’ - a luxury that other airway devices in the market have not yet managed.The competition usually has three or four different sizes that will be apt for a different size of person, but with the TULIP, it is a matter of just pressing down the adjustable shaft so that it fills the throat cavity (gullet) to the necessary size. After that, its a simple matter of blowing air to inflate the lung, with little stress. To enable convenience training videos and visuals are available on Facebook and Youtube. The best part is that the TULIP, can be used by anyone and is not limited to the expertise of an anaesthesiologist. “It is as important for hospitals to use them as it is for every house, soccer field and airport to possess these for emergencies,” he said.  Though manufactured in the UK at present, Dr Shaikh who invented this device announced that the Sivagami Commercial Company Pvt Ltd would be importing and marketing the same.