Laryngeal mask airway device with airway tube having flattened outer circumference and elliptical inner airway passage

Abstract

The disclosed laryngeal mask airway device includes an inflatable cuff and an airway tube. The inflatable cuff defines a central opening at least when inflated. The cuff is insertable through a mouth of a patient to an inserted location within the patient. The cuff surrounds a glottic opening of the patient when the cuff is inflated and at the inserted location. The airway tube extends from a proximal end to a distal end. The airway tube defines an internal passage, an anterior portion, a posterior portion, a left portion, and a right portion. An airway passage extends from the proximal end of the tube through the internal passage to the glottic opening when the cuff is inflated and at the inserted location. The anterior portion is characterized by a thinner wall thickness than the left and right portions. The posterior portion is characterized by a thinner wall thickness than the left and right portions.

1 . A laryngeal mask airway device, comprising: 
 (A) an inflatable cuff, the cuff defining a central opening at least when inflated, the cuff being insertable through a mouth of a patient to an inserted location within the patient, the cuff surrounding a glottic opening of the patient when inflated and at the inserted location;    (B) an airway tube extending from a proximal end to a distal end, the airway tube defining an internal passage, an anterior portion, a posterior portion, a left portion, and a right portion, an airway passage extending from the proximal end of the tube through the internal passage to the glottic opening when the cuff is inflated and at the inserted location, the anterior portion being characterized by a thinner wall thickness than the left and right portions, the posterior portion being characterized by a thinner wall thickness than the left and right portions.