Local paramedic invents device to clear airways
by Brady Delander
Staff Writer

Jeff Rehman, a firefighter and paramedic with North Metro Fire Rescue District, discusses the tool he invented to help clear an accident victim's airway. Photo by Jon Brodhacker MetroNorth News.

February 04, 2010 | 11:17 AM
The idea was so good that it woke up Jeff Rehman from a deep sleep in the middle of the night.

As a firefighter and paramedic for the North Metro Fire Rescue District, Rehman knew there had to be a better way to clear the airway of unconscious victims. The common method is a finger sweep, which is exactly what it sounds like - emergency personnel use their fingers to clear vomit or food or other obstructions from a person's throat.

Rehman knows from first-hand experience that the technique isn't ideal.

He lost a chunk of his middle finger to one particularly combative victim in 2005.

"You have to get pretty deep in there to clear out the airway, and he just bit down on me," said Rehman, 46, a 17-year veteran of NMFRD. "The idea woke me up at 2:30 in the morning while I was on-duty at the station. So I got up and built a prototype using spoons and soda straws."

The creative juices started flowing in 2006, and the result was a unique device that efficiently clears a victim's airway while still allowing for suction. He patented the item and spent the next three years looking for a way to bring the tool to market, which proved to be a challenge.

"I was about ready to give up," said Rehman, a resident of Westminster.

The airway suction spoon - properly called the S-SCORT S3 Oropharyngeal Evacuation Tool - soon garnered the attention of SSCOR Inc., a California-based company that largely produces portable suction devices for emergency medical procedures. The tool was registered and commercialized in November of last year, and the final product is currently ready for distribution.

Some 20,000 units have been produced and packaged - and there is nothing else like it on the market.

"This is the only product that bridges that gap and is designed to take the place of the finger sweep," said Sam D. Say, president and CEO of SSCOR.

Say recalled a paramedics course he took that provided some conflicting information - use your finger to clear a victim's airway, the instructor said a few hours before adding that emergency responders should never put their fingers in a victim's mouth.

"A bunch of hands went up in the class after he said that, but they didn't really have an answer," Say said. "He just shrugged and said to not use your fingers."

Rehman's invention solves that riddle.

More importantly, the spoon protects emergency personnel while providing what can be a life-or-death solution to airway blockage.

"Oftentimes when people need an airway established there is 'junk' in the way. This junk could be vomit, lodged food, blood clots, etc.," said Wendy Forbes, public information officer for NMFRD. "This is a very serious situation since it sometimes can't be resolved and the patient dies."

Rehman noted that as many as 75 percent of people who inhale vomit while unconscious do not survive.

The tool is a rigid but flexible and soft and smooth to the touch. It features a large-bore suction tip with a concave scooping surface that allows for the removal of solids and other materials lodged in the air passage.

Rehman said the appeal of the device is its simplicity and functionality.

"The response from the paramedic community has been good. This finally gives them a tool to use in the field," Rehman said. "You just put it to work."

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