Smartphone assisted laryngoscopy: A new technique to overcome light failure in a laryngoscope

摘要

Recently during direct laryngoscopy for an elective case, the laryngoscope's light bulb unexpectedly failed. A flashlight smartphone app ("Assistive Light Widget" for Android, similar to iPhone "Flashlight") was was not interrupted. Due to the wide angle of the flashlight, the larynx was well viewed, and tracheal intubation was easily performed. Smartphones are carried by most attending physicians in our department in the pockets of scrubs and are thus immediately available, always charged, and their flashlight application can be switched on with no external power source. This is in contrast to other compact external light sources available in the operating room (such as flashlights) that are bulkier, require regular maintenance and checks, or have to be plugged into a power source. Even if spare batteries or laryngoscopes are available, their use requires laryngos-copy to be abandoned.