All About Thoraguard Digital Drainage System

A thoracic catheter chest tube is a flexible plastic tube that is inserted through the chest wall and into the pleural space or mediastinum. It is used to remove air (pneumothorax) or fluid (pleural effusion, blood, chyle), or pus (empyema) from the intrathoracic space.

Thoracic catheter tubes provide for effective drainage after thoracic surgery. The catheter is placed intraoperatively, removes gas and fluid deposits from the pleural cavity, and helps to restore and maintain pressure.

Thoraguard can also be used in thoracic surgery to digitally measure and display air leak rate and 24-hour trends, which enables objective decision-making that can result in early patient ambulation and discharge when compared to traditional analog drainage systems.

Thoraguard is a next-generation digital drainage system designed to protect patients and improve the accuracy of post-operative clinical decision-making. In cardiac surgery, it is the first and only automated clog clearance system, clearing chest tubes every five minutes with no clinician interaction required. It digitally measures and displays hourly drainage volume and trends with an intuitive user interface.

It digitally measures and displays the air leak rate and 24-hour trends in a compact, self-contained system requiring no external suction connection. Having information that is more precise than current analog drainage methods enhances clinical decision-making, which can result in early patient ambulation and discharge.