Hummingbird device makes kids’ ear surgery easier

Plymouth-based, Preceptis Medical has created a device to deliver easier ear surgery  to children

The Hummingbird Tympanostomy tube system is designed to perform ear tube insertion quickly and in many cases without putting the child under anaesthesia.

According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology, (AAO) an ear tube procedure typically involves the insertion of tiny cylinders through the ear drum, allowing air into the middle ear.

The AAO says the ventilation tubes often become necessary when the patient suffers frequent ear infections, or has hearing loss due to a build-up of middle ear fluid – something that commonly occurs in children.

The device allows for moderate sedation, like laughing gas, as opposed to full anaesthesia, which is something many parents of small children are not comfortable with, KSTP news reports.

A Preceptis spokesperson sad that having recently been given approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the device should be available in hospitals in the spring of 2016.

Preceptis says Hummingbird is the first such device cleared by the FDA for mild sedation.