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The SCEPTRE Suction Device: Bridging Portability and Performance in Combat Medicine
Eric L Wiatrek1, Maria J Londono2,3, Saketh R Peri2
1Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Industrial Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, Texas, 78249, USA.
Purpose:
Airway management is critical in lifesaving care, and effective airway clearance in emergency and combat settings requires portable suction devices that provide strong suction yet remain easy to carry. Existing options are either powerful but too large or portable but lack sufficient performance for field use. To address this gap, the Suction Capability for Emergencies: Portable Technology for Responders (SCEPTRE)-a compact, lightweight suction device-was developed.
Methods:
SCEPTRE's design and prototyping was guided by end-user feedback. Performance testing, defined a priori using published standards, characterized vacuum pressure, air flow rate, and liquid flow rate using water, blood simulant, and vomit simulant. SCEPTRE was compared to the SSCOR Quickdraw (battery-powered competitor) and Laerdal V-VAC (manually-powered competitor), with liquid flow normalized to device weight and volume.
Results:
SCEPTRE achieved a vacuum pressure of 266.7 ± 2.1 mmHg and an average air flow rate of 3.44 ± 0.04 L/min. Liquid flow testing across water, blood, and vomit simulants showed low variability, with flow rates of 1.65 ± 0.05, 1.65 ± 0.04, and 0.70 ± 0.04 L/min, respectively. For water, blood, and vomit, SSCOR reached 5.51 ± 0.13, 5.21 ± 0.22, and 1.78 ± 0.17 L/min, respectively, while V-VAC achieved 2.17 ± 0.23, 2.26 ± 0.32, and 1.14 ± 0.06 L/min, respectively. When normalized by weight and volume, SCEPTRE (0.206 kg, 241 cm3) had a flow-to-weight ratio of 8.25 L/min/kg and the highest flow-to-volume ratio (7.05 × 10-3 L/min/cm3). In comparison, V-VAC reached 8.84 L/min/kg with a lower flow-to-volume of 1.03 × 10⁻3 L/min/cm3, and SSCOR showed 4.78 L/min/kg and 2.12 × 10⁻3 L/min/cm3.
Conclusion:
SCEPTRE achieved satisfactory performance for suction across physiologically relevant fluids and demonstrated high weight- and volume-normalized efficiency. These results support its potential use in combat and prehospital care and reinforce the value of weight- and volume-based metrics for portable suction devices.
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