Biomedical sciences instrumentation
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When a patient's lungs require mechanical ventilation, a plastic breathing tube (tracheal tube, TT) must be inserted through the vocal cords and into the trachea. Although insertion of the TT is a routine procedure, determining the correct depth of insertion is difficult clinically, and may require a chest radiograph. We investigated the accuracy of a simple clinical method for inserting a TT to the correct depth. ⋯ A magnet with specific field characteristics was passed along the front of the neck to locate the reed switch and confirm the location of the cuff. The TT position in the trachea was then examined with a fiberoptic scope. The palpation technique resulted in optimal positioning of the TT in all subjects and could save approximately $14,268/year in chest radiograph costs in our institution.