POST FALLS - Local emergency responders have the GlideScope on their side.

Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, which covers Post Falls, Dalton Gardens, Fernan Village and Stateline, recently purchased two GlideScopes, a video device that allows for quick, real-time views of patients' airways.

"The GlideScope allows us to increase the level of care by providing airway control in a much more definitive way for both adults and children," said KCFR Chief Warren Merritt. "They are a natural evolution in bringing the latest technology into the field to take care of our citizens."

Coeur d'Alene Fire purchased two of the devices last year for its ambulances. They cost $15,000 each.

Merritt said GlideScopes allow paramedics to more easily place an endotracheal tube (that allows patients to breathe) in patients with less trauma.

"Soft tissue injury can occur - similar to a sore throat that many experience following surgery," Merritt said.

GlideScopes include a 5-by-4-inch screen attached to a baton that has a camera on the end.

"The baton goes into the airway and broadcasts the picture back to the screen, allowing the paramedic to see the airway," Merritt said. "The GlideScope provides a visual verification that the endotracheal tube is in its proper place in the trachea that would not otherwise be available."

The devices are operational in seconds, have an anti-fog feature and support batons for adults and children.

Prior to GlideScopes the agencies used a device called a laryngoscope, a handle with a curved blade and a light on the end.

"It works well in some situations, but it can be extremely difficult with certain patients," said Bill Keeley, KCFR division chief, adding that a patient's anatomy or traumatic injury can complicate intubations. "Also using that method is much harder to tell if the endotracheal tube is placed in the correct position.

"The GlideScope allows a paramedic to see all of the structures on a video monitor."

GlideScopes have been available for paramedic use for four years.