Laryngeal Mask Airway - First Prototype

First Prototype

Dr Brain made cadaveric plaster casts of the space around and behind the glottis, a space adapted to the acceptance of foreign bodies in the form of food, therefore likely to tolerate an inflated cuff. Dr Brain recognised that if the boat shaped space were to be filled by an expandable cuff, an end to end seal could be formed. Dr Brain experimented with the Goldman Dental nasal mask cuff, if the flanges were drawn together in the midline, they produced a remarkable approximation to the plaster casts. The final step to create the first prototype LMA was to incorporate a tube. Satisfied by the results of inserting the prototype LMA into cadavers, the prototype LMA was first used in the summer of 1981 in a 40 year-old male patient undergoing an elective inguinal hernia repair. To Dr Brain’s delight, it was possible to ventilate the lungs, indicating not only that the device provided a clear airway, but that it also formed an effective seal with the glottic inlet.