Low-Profile Enteral Feeding Device Eases Insertion

A novel low-profile gastrostomy system can be utilized for both initial placement and replacement, making it more durable and comfortable for patients.

The Fidmi Medical (Caesarea, Israel) improved low-profile percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube is designed to provide enteral nutrition directly into the stomach via a stoma to patients who are unable to receive nutrition by conventional means. Designed to be placed like standard tubes, it features an inner tube, which can be replaced by the patients themselves, without assistance. This results in fewer complications, helping to potentially reduce healthcare costs for payers and healthcare systems, and providing a substantial improvement in quality of life for patients and their caregivers.

The system includes the disposable Stoma Measuring Device, which aids in selection of the appropriate PEG length among five possible options; the low profile PEG device itself, with a gastric port and flexible external bumper to stabilize the stoma on one side, and a bumper that can be dismantled for removal when enteral feeding is no longer required on the other; and finally, the replacement feeding tube, an internal component that may be retracted, disposed of, and replaced without any manipulation to the PEG device itself. Replacement is recommended following accidental dislodgement, clogging, or once a week.

“Feeding tubes in their current shape have been around since the late 1970s, and they look pretty much the same today as they did in the early ’80s,” said Shahar Millis, CEO of Fidmi Medical. “Our rigid-core silicone internal bumper keeps the tube in place better than the current soft bumpers meant to be removed along with the tube. A special tool detaches the tube from the bumper, which then breaks up and is eliminated naturally from the body. That allows us to remove only the tube, so there is no need for anesthesia or endoscopy.”

“Current products get clogged all the time, especially in nursing homes, and we should be able to come up with a better device. Fidmi Medical has really met an unmet need,” said Stephen Cohen, MD, director of acute care surgery at Greenbrier Medical Center (WV, USA). “This new tube will completely change the paradigm for placing and removing feeding tubes with much less chance of a patient accidentally dislodging it. Anybody can unclog it and change it easily.”

A PEG tube provides nutrition to patients who cannot obtain it orally, are unable to swallow safely, or need nutritional supplementation. Placement may be temporary for the treatment of acute conditions or lifelong in the case of chronic disabilities. Feeding tube placement is often done blindly, incurring various risks such as misplacement of the feeding tube into the patient’s airway, which can potentially cause a punctured lung or even death.

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