Importance

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Abstract

A ventilating and aspirating apparatus for delivering respiratory gases to the trachea and the congested lungs and breathing passageways of a patient includes a flexible catheter tube extendable into and withdrawable from the patient's trachea. The catheter is housed within a pliable sheath extending from a manifold that is attachable to an endotracheal tube. The sheath has a slit defined by backing members formed along elongate opposed edges. A releasable, air tight 'ziplock' seal is effected at the slit by a bead on one backing member and a groove to sealingly receive the bead on the other backing member. A 'ziplock' actuator is structured as a slider member which travels along the bead and groove, and includes converging ends to hold the bead in the groove and a conduit member extending centrally through the slider member to interconnect an end of the catheter tube inside the sheath through a vacuum valve carried by the slider member outside the sheath to a vacuum source. The vacuum valve is operable by the same hand of a user that may be used to move the slider member.

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First Claim