ANZCA Winter 21 Bulletin Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists launched today [1 July 2021], on page 11 is a fantastic interview with Dr Paul Scott showcasing @scottairwaymanagement innovative solution to bag-mask ventilating patients with bearded or misshapen faces.
BAG-MASKING a patient with a beard has long been a challenge for anaesthetists who often resort to cling wrap, plastic dressings or a lubricating jelly to try and secure the seal.
For Brisbane fellow Dr Paul Scott developing a solution to the problem became such a priority that in September 2018 he sketched a prototype of a device on a cafe napkin and his SAM Safety Shield was born.
Since drafting that first sketch he has received a prestigious Australian Good Design Award and a $100,000 grant from the Queensland government’s Advance Queensland Ignite Ideas fund which helps small-to-medium businesses to scale up market-ready, innovative products or services to national and global markets.
Dr Scott’s silicon shield is now being used by a Queensland private hospital group and is under evaluation in the state’s public health system. The device is now made in China but Dr Scott is hoping he can manufacture the device in Australia.
“The $100,000 grant will enable us to produce on a mass scale and create jobs and we’re currently evaluating the possibility of producing the product here in Australia. It has been wholly Australian developed and designed and we would love to see it being manufactured in Australia,” he explains.
When patients can’t breathe anaesthetists apply bag valve mask ventilation (BMV) to push oxygen into the patient’s lungs. BMV relies on a tight face seal and having a beard or a misshaped face can make that difficult.
“I had a couple of these patients on the same day and not long after I was at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and watched an anaesthetist trying to overcome the problem using small plastic dressings which is one of the proscribed techniques. It was time consuming, fiddly and ultimately ineffective and it has been a problem since anaesthetists started bag mask ventilating 70-80 years ago. It can be stressful for the anaesthetist and clinical staff, and dangerous for the patient,” Dr Scott recalls.
His “aha” moment came later the next day: “I was at a cafe and I noticed there were all these hipsters there with beards and my prototype sketch developed from there.”
Dr Scott applied for a patent and then started some basic trials with a dental dam before employing an industrial designer to build the first silicone prototype. After trialling 10 different prototypes produced in China the safety shield is now in market.
While the device was first developed to make it easier for anaesthetists and emergency responders working with bearded patients the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic early last year fuelled further interest in the device from hospitals and clinical staff concerned about aerosol generating procedures.
“When you’re doing our job you can’t avoid these risks. We can’t stay away from the patient or socially distance and the patient can’t wear a mask. So it became clear at that point that this device could help reduce aerosol airway secretions by improving the seal and capturing any aerosol secretions,” Dr Scott explains
“Until COVID and this device everyone was happy to wear a mask but no one was thinking about what the patient actually emits. This is the first device that helps to protect against those emissions. Safety shield invention a boon for patients with beards A silicon device developed by FANZCA Dr Paul Scott to make it easier to bag-mask bearded patients has been awarded a $100,000 innovations grant by the Queensland government.
“While one option is to shave the patient’s beard off many patients will refuse that either for aesthetic or religious reasons. I recently spoke to a patient who remembers 15 years ago that he was asked to shave off his beard that he had had for 40 years. To this day he is still angry that he was forced to shave it off.”
In recognising the SAM Safety Shield with a Good Design Award accolade in the product design medical and scientific category for outstanding design and innovation the judges noted: “The protective aspect of the device is critical, particularly at the time of global pandemic.”
The device has been registered with the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia and Dr Scott is working towards receiving approval from regulatory bodies in the US and Europe.
For more information visit www.scottairwaymanagement.com
Carolyn Jones
Media Manager, ANZCA
*Publication does not imply ANZCA endorsement of the above product over other similar devices.