Our Story
The Story Behind Capnospot®
In 2016, surgeon-scientist Dr. John Aho set out to eliminate the guesswork of correct needle decompression placement. During his years in the trauma unit, he personally and repeatedly witnessed the effects of unsuccessful and life-threatening attempts by trained medical professionals and EMS technicians to administer needle decompression in the field. Patients sometimes arrived at the ER with multiple needles in the chest as testaments of placement failure. The standard procedure of listing for a “gush of air” did not work in practice and he decided that there had to be a better and objective way to confirm decompression success.
Dr. Aho thought of familiar breathing tube methods studied during his work at the Mayo Clinic and the idea behind the Capnospot® indicator was born. Initial testing was conducted, and a provisional patent was issued later that year.
The innovative Capnospot indicator he invented uses colorimetric capnography to assist providers in rapid and accurate confirmation of needle thoracostomy placement. The small, lightweight, and compact device is compatible with all decompression devices and functions in low-light environments, such as combat and military situations.
The Capnospot device currently has two US patents with additional patents pending.
Our Mission
Pneumeric, Inc. was founded in July 2021 and exclusively licensed the technology from Mayo Clinic. In March 2023, the company received FDA clearance along with a superiority claim and was ready to market the Capnospot.
Pneumeric and Dr. Aho remain passionate about elevating the standard for tension pneumothorax care to reduce treatment failure and death and are on a mission to develop future generations of Medical Devices for the care of trauma patients around the world.
Join our mission by trying out and implementing Capnospot. Together we can save lives.
READY TO ORDER?
The Capnospot® device is available through a network of national and international distributors.