Simulation and optimal design of suction tip and cyclonic separator for airway management device

A design for the suction tip and cyclonic separator for a medical suction device used for oropharyngeal suctioning and airway management is presented. The suction tip was designed to fit within the oral cavity, to keep the mandible open, to apply constant suctioning on demand, and to allow the provider to free his/her hands to conduct other procedures. The cyclonic separator was designed to separate and collect 500 ml of suctioned fluids and particles from the airstream, preventing them from entering the pump body. The centrifugal acceleration of the air, which was directly related to separation efficiency, was optimized by varying the geometry of the cyclonic separator and simulating the flow using the k-€ turbulence model. A prototype was built using the optimized cyclonic separator geometry and underwent a series of performance tests that evaluated the pressure head loss across the separator, pump-down time, suction power, and separation efficiency. The prototype performance was compared with that of the SSCOR Quickdraw® suction pump canister. The pump-down time for the prototype was faster than that of the Quickdraw® canister. At low air flow rate, the Quickdraw® canister and the prototype cyclone separator performed similarly on the other performance parameters. At high air flow rate, the prototype exhibited less pressure head loss than the Quickdraw® canister, implying that significant performance benefits may be achieved by the prototype within that operating regime.