Handheld Device Uses Fiber Optic Sensor to Determine Correct Nasogastric Feeding Tube Placement

Annually, nurses are tasked with inserting over a million feeding tubes into patients' stomachs for the delivery of nutrition, hydration, and medication. It is reported that inaccurate placement of nasogastric tubes (NGTs) occurs in 1-3% of all insertions, which can lead to severe consequences including treatment delays and, in some cases, death. The majority of NGTs are inserted 'blind', as the procedure does not involve any form of visualization to confirm correct positioning before use. Traditional methods, in use for the past 20 years, are inherently flawed. The first technique to confirm NGT placement involves pH testing of the NGT aspirate. If a pH level of 5.5 or lower is achieved, the NGT is deemed safe, otherwise, chest X-rays are required. However, pH strips can fail in up to 45% of cases due to difficulty in obtaining aspirate, necessitating an X-ray for the patient and causing an average treatment delay of approximately eight hours. Now, a new electronic device specifically designed for correct NGT placement could eliminate the problem of incorrectly inserted feeding tubes.

NGPod Global (Cheshire, UK) has developed the NGPOD system, a device designed to tackle the risks associated with traditional nasogastric placement confirmation techniques. The portable NGPod device employs a fiber optic sensor that is introduced directly into the stomach via the feeding tube, eliminating the need for aspirate while transmitting light signals back to a handheld device. The NGPOD system also eliminates the need to aspirate gastric contents from the patient and reduces the risk of clinical interpretation errors by providing a safe bedside test that delivers a clear 'yes' or 'no' result. Furthermore, the device lowers the requirement for unnecessary X-rays to confirm placement, contributing to patient safety and cost-efficiency.

Using the product is straightforward and would require a maximum of 20 minutes for a professional to learn how to use the device with barriers set up in the device to prevent human errors. In a recent clinical trial consisting of 154 adult patients, researchers compared the performance of NGPod against the current pH strip procedures and found that it reduces the need for patients to use an X-ray by 61% while improving safety and human error. The device is currently in 12 hospitals in the UK with another eight scheduled to be implemented in the next six months.

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