Facial Analysis to Classify Difficult Intubation

Description

The aim of this project is to develop a computer algorithm that can accurately predict how easy or difficult it is to intubate a patient based upon digital photographs from three different perspectives. Such an application can provide a consistent, quantitative measure of intubation difficulty by analyzing facial features in captured photographs - features which have previously been shown to correlate with how easy or how hard it would be to perform the intubation procedure. This is in contrast to established subjective protocols that also serve to predict intubation difficulty, albeit with lower accuracy. A digital application has the potential to decrease potential complications related to intubation difficulty and increase patient safety.

Conditions

Difficult Intubation

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Study Overview

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Study Details

Study overview

The aim of this project is to develop a computer algorithm that can accurately predict how easy or difficult it is to intubate a patient based upon digital photographs from three different perspectives. Such an application can provide a consistent, quantitative measure of intubation difficulty by analyzing facial features in captured photographs - features which have previously been shown to correlate with how easy or how hard it would be to perform the intubation procedure. This is in contrast to established subjective protocols that also serve to predict intubation difficulty, albeit with lower accuracy. A digital application has the potential to decrease potential complications related to intubation difficulty and increase patient safety.

Comparison of a Computerized Image Analysis to Conventional Airway Examination Techniques to Predict Difficult Endotracheal Intubation

Facial Analysis to Classify Difficult Intubation

Condition
Difficult Intubation
Intervention / Treatment

-

Contacts and Locations

Winston-Salem

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, 27157

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.

Eligibility Criteria

  • * Patients requiring endotracheal intubation
  • * Patients consenting to acquisition of photographic images of the head and neck
  • * Patients who had undergone head or neck surgery
  • * Patients in whom central venous catheters or other interventions that prevent full view of the features of the face in frontal and profile views
  • * Patients who were neither easy nor difficult to intubate by our criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 Years to 99 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Collaborators and Investigators

Wake Forest University Health Sciences,

Scott Segal, MD, MHCM, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Study Record Dates

2025-12