Tracheostomy Robotics and Cutting-edge Health Education for Airway Safety

successful first-time tracheostomy tube change attempts before and after the use of mixed reality tracheostomy tube change device; from the time of receiving a tracheostomy tube until discharge or tracheostomy decannulation.

successful first-time tracheostomy tube change attempt, will be calculated by measuring the number of successful first-time tracheostomy tube change attempts over the total number of tracheostomy tube change attempts; from the time of receiving a tracheostomy tube until discharge or tracheostomy decannulation.

Discomfort, the level of physical or psychological unease, pain, or distress experienced by patients with a tracheostomy resulting from the presence of the tracheostomy tube or related interventions will be measured using a Visual Analog Scale pain scale. The scale ranges from 0 - 100 with 0 referring to no pain and 100 extreme pain.

Discomfort, the level of physical or psychological unease, pain, or distress experienced by patients with a tracheostomy resulting from the presence of the tracheostomy tube or related interventions will be measured using a Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale if the patient cannot verbalize pain levels using Visual Analog Scale pain scale. The Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating scale consists of a series of varying facial expressions, ranging from a happy face (indicating no pain) to a crying, distressed face (indicating severe pain). Each face on the scale is assigned a numerical value (often ranging from 0 to 10), which allows for quantification and tracking of pain over time.

The occurrence of infection at the stoma site in the neck where tracheostomy tube is inserted, will be assessed by the presence of swelling, redness, discharge, and pain at the stoma site from the time of receiving a tracheostomy tube until discharge or tracheostomy decannulation.

Data regarding bleeding in the airway secretions due to injury from suctioning will be retrieved from electronic health records and automated suctioning device.

Dislodgment will be observed during the tracheostomy tube change procedure, until discharge, or tracheostomy decannulation, or captured from electronic health records.

False Tract, the creation of an unintended passage during tracheostomy tube insertion will be identified by the study team during tracheostomy tube change procedure based on the assessment for air leakage, suboptimal ventilation, or visible defects, using capnography and pulsoximetry, and/or radiological findings.

Airway Obstruction, partial or complete blockage of the tracheostomy tube, will be assessed by monitoring signs and symptoms of airway obstruction, such as decreased airflow or increased respiratory effort from the time of receiving a tracheostomy tube, until discharge or tracheostomy decannulation.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) caused by microbial colonization in the airways will be evaluated for correlation with use of tracheostomy to differentiate from other causes of VAP based on timing of diagnoses and clinical symptoms by evaluating electronic health records. VAP will be assessed from the time of receiving a tracheostomy tube until discharge or tracheostomy decannulation.

Patient and family satisfaction will be measured using a study team-developed satisfaction questionnaire with 10 Likert scale items and semi-structured interviews. The Likert scale will range from 1 - 5 with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree. Satisfaction will be assessed immediately after use of automated robotic suctioning device, mixed-reality tracheostomy tube change system, or NextGen tracheostomy toolkit.

Patient and family satisfaction will be measured using a questionnaire with Likert scale items and semi-structured interviews. Acceptability will be assessed immediately after use of automated robotic suctioning device, mixed-reality tracheostomy tube change system, or NextGen tracheostomy toolkit.

Evaluate equitable delivery of care among different patient groups, by summarizing socio-demographic factors such as gender, race, ethnicity, and insurance status to evaluate associations in relation to clinical outcomes. Equitable delivery of care will be assessed immediately after use of automated robotic suctioning device, mixed-reality tracheostomy tube change system, or NextGen tracheostomy toolkit.

ICU LOS is the number of days the patient remains in the ICU with a tracheostomy tube from the time of receiving a tracheostomy tube until discharge or tracheostomy decannulation.

Hospital LOS is the number of days a patient remains in the hospital, including both the ICU and other units, with a tracheostomy tube from the time of receiving a tracheostomy tube until discharge or tracheostomy decannulation.

The number of days patient received mechanical ventilation via a tracheostomy.

Tracheostomy duration is the length of time the tracheostomy tube remains in place, indicating the duration of tracheostomy dependence; from the time of receiving a tracheostomy tube until discharge or tracheostomy decannulation.