Method and system for determining placement of a tracheal tube in a subject

1. A medical device for determining placement of a tracheal tube in a subject comprising:

a processor configured to execute instructions for:

driving a light source to emit light through a plurality of optical conductors circumferentially spaced apart on a beveled distal end of a tracheal tube disposed in a subject, wherein the beveled distal end is slanted relative to a gas flow pathway of the tracheal tube;

determining an intensity of the emitted light from each of the respective plurality of optical conductors;

receiving information from a first detector configured to receive returned light emitted from each of the respective plurality of optical conductors after interaction with an anatomical structure of the subject;

determining an intensity of the returned light emitted from each of the respective plurality of optical conductors based at least in part upon the information from the first detector; and

determining a relative position of the beveled distal end of the tracheal tube within a trachea of the subject relative to the anatomical structure based at least in part on the intensity of the emitted light from each of the respective plurality of optical conductors and the intensity of the returned light emitted from each of the respective plurality of optical conductors and a difference in path length between the plurality of optical conductors wherein the difference in path length is representative of a position of each respective optical conductor about the beveled distal end; and

a memory storing the instructions;

wherein the processor is configured to access the memory to execute the instructions.

2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine the relative position based upon an algorithm that implements an equation generally of the form:

R= 1/2( RI o /I r ) 1/2 ,

where R is a placement parameter, R is a function of optical properties of the anatomical structure, I o is the intensity of the emitted light, and I r is the intensity of the returned light.

3. The device of claim 1 , comprising a display configured to display an indication of the relative position of the beveled distal end of the tracheal tube.

4. The device of claim 1 , wherein the device comprises a light drive coupled to the processor, and wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions for causing the light drive to drive the light source to emit the light through each of the plurality of optical conductors.

5. The device of claim 1 , comprising the light source configured to emit the light through the plurality of optical conductors.

6. The device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions for receiving information from a second detector configured to receive the emitted light from each of the respective plurality of optical conductors, and wherein the processor is configured to execute instructions for determining the intensity of the emitted light for each of the respective plurality of optical conductors based at least in part upon the information from the second detector.

7. The device of claim 1 , wherein the intensity of the emitted light is stored in the memory.

8. The device of claim 1 , comprising the plurality of optical conductors, wherein each of the plurality of optical conductors comprises an optical fiber bundle comprising at least one emitting fiber and at least one return fiber.

9. A system for determining placement of a tracheal tube in a subject comprising:

a tracheal tube comprising a plurality of optical conductors circumferentially spaced apart on a beveled distal end of the tracheal tube, wherein the beveled distal end is slanted relative to a gas flow pathway of the tracheal tube;

a light source configured to emit light through each of the respective plurality of optical conductors when the tracheal tube is disposed in the subject;

a first photodetector configured to receive returned light emitted from each of the respective plurality of optical conductors and to determine an intensity of the returned light from each of the respective plurality of optical conductors; and

a processor configured to determine a relative position of the beveled distal end of the tracheal tube within a trachea of a subject relative to an anatomical structure based at least in part on the intensity of a reference light and the returned light from each of the respective plurality of optical conductors and a difference in path length between the plurality of optical conductors wherein the difference in path length is representative of a position of each respective optical conductor about the distal end.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the reference light comprises light emitted from the light source.

11. The system of claim 9 , comprising a second photodetector configured to receive the emitted light and to determine the intensity of the reference light based at least in part on the emitted light.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the intensity of the reference light is stored in a memory.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the intensity of the reference light is stored in an encoder associated with the light source.

14. A system for determining placement of a tracheal tube in a subject comprising:

a tracheal tube comprising a plurality of optical conductors circumferentially spaced apart on a beveled distal end of the tracheal tube, wherein the beveled distal end is slanted relative to a gas flow pathway of the tracheal tube;

a light source configured to emit light through each of the respective plurality of optical conductors when the tracheal tube is disposed in the subject;

a photodetector configured to receive returned light emitted from each of the respective plurality of optical conductors and to determine an intensity of the returned light from each of the respective plurality of optical conductors;

a processor configured to:

determine a relative position of the beveled distal end of the tracheal tube within a trachea of a patient relative to an anatomical structure based at least in part on the intensity of the returned light from each of the respective plurality of optical conductors and a difference in path length between the plurality of optical conductors wherein the difference in path length is representative of a position of each respective optical conductor about the distal end; and

determine a placement parameter of the tracheal tube based on a difference in intensity between emitted light and returned light for at least one of the plurality of optical conductors, wherein the placement parameter is a distance between the relative position of the beveled distal end of the tracheal tube and the anatomical structure.

15. The system of claim 14 , comprising a display configured to display an indication of the relative position of the beveled distal end of the tracheal tube.

16. The system of claim 14 , comprising a display configured to display an indication of the placement parameter.

17. The system of claim 14 , wherein the processor is configured to provide instructions to trigger an alarm if the placement parameter is indicative of improper placement of the tracheal tube.