Prestigious international recognition in the form of the International Medis Awards has been granted to Michaela Richtrová from the Department of Paediatric Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (KDAR) at the University Hospital Brno and the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University. Biomechanist Petr Marcián from FME also contributed to the development of the intubation device for paediatric patients with cleft conditions.

An expert jury awarded a publication in the journal Annals of Medicine, which presents the results of using the new intubation device in children with cleft lip and palate. Michaela Richtrová is the lead author of the paper, together with Olga Košková from the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery at the University Hospital Brno and the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University.

The development project, which bridges clinical practice and technical disciplines, also involved a significant contribution from biomechanist Petr Marcián of the Institute of Solid Mechanics, Mechatronics and Biomechanics at FME. The project was further supported by a team of experts from the Department of Paediatric Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care at the University Hospital Brno and the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, who provided essential cooperation during the clinical testing of the device.

“I see this award as a major recognition of our closely collaborating multidisciplinary team. The collaboration with Olga Košková and Petr Marcián was absolutely crucial for the development of this unique intubation device,” emphasizes Michaela Richtrová.

The outcome of this multidisciplinary collaboration is a silicone obturator—a specially designed intubation device that facilitates airway management during cleft lip and palate surgeries in newborns and young children. The project was supported by a grant from the Czech Health Research Council.

For more detailed information, see the press release of the University Hospital Brno (in Czech only).