Overview

• A UC Santa Barbara–led study in Science Translational Medicine describes a non‑electronic device that advances by everting from its tip to steer a soft tube into the trachea.
• Expert operators achieved 100% placement in mannequin and cadaver models, while minimally trained EMTs and paramedics reached 96% overall success with just five minutes of instruction.
• Non‑experts averaged 21 seconds to place the airway versus 44 seconds using a state‑of‑the‑art video laryngoscope, with an 87% first‑pass success rate reported.
• Researchers emphasize that performance and safety in live patients remain unproven, with outside clinicians urging caution until real‑world results are reproduced.
• Startup Vine Medical aims to begin an initial elective‑surgery patient study within six to eight months, and the NSF provided partial funding for the project.