A smart, automatic suction device that rescues choking victims when manual rescue methods fail
THE PROBLEM
Choking is the 4th leading cause of accidental death in the US. ~5,500 people die every year — one child every five days, with 75% of deaths in adults 65+. The Heimlich maneuver, the universal first-line intervention, succeeds only 46.6% of the time in real-world EMS data (NEMSIS, 2024 — n=1,947). It also causes documented rib fractures and abdominal trauma when performed correctly. Independent peer-reviewed evidence (Ramaswamy et al., Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology 2023) further demonstrates that current manual plunger-style devices fail on the foods that actually cause most choking deaths — grapes, hot dogs, and cashews.
OUR SOLUTION
A powered suction device that generates all of the rescue force itself — the operator just seals the mask. Three patented mechanisms:
- Pulse/intermittent waveform mimics natural cough physiology — designed to help dislodge compressible obstructions that challenge manual plunger-style devices.
- Operator-selected patient-mode suction with safe pre-set pressure limits per patient type (infant / child / adult / elderly) to prevent tissue damage.
- True one-hand operation with sensor-driven automatic shutoff — usable by a parent with an infant, an elderly spouse, a frail rescuer.
IP & REGULATORY
US Patent 12,599,713 B1 issued by USPTO (April 2026)
PCT — Clean international written opinion: all claims novel, inventive, industrially applicable
FDA path: 510(k) predicate pathway via 21 CFR 874.5400, newly created in March 2026
Development target: ~12 months from funding to 510(k) submission
MARKET & TRACTION
Category validation: existing manual devices generate $100M+ annual revenue pre-clearance, demonstrating consumer demand
Institutional TAM: 30K nursing homes + 29K assisted living + 117K daycare + 100K schools + 700K restaurants
Institutional mandates accelerating (state-level legislation requiring anti-choking devices in schools)
Year-5 revenue target: $430M
WHY US
This company began after two choking incidents in our family, one year apart. My 85-year-old mother died from a grape choking incident — my father tried the Heimlich and could not generate the force needed. My daughter survived a similar grape incident, but suffered fractured ribs from attempted Heimlich before the obstruction cleared. The 46.6% Heimlich failure rate is not an abstract statistic to us. We are the common case.