CuffWay
Smarter Endotracheal Cuff Pressure Control for Critical Care Settings
CuffWay is an early-stage medtech venture developing a device to automatically monitor and modulate endotracheal tube cuff pressure in real time. Dr. Boyd has worked closely with the founding team as an advisor and mentor — helping translate a clinician-identified problem into a disciplined medical device development pathway to clinical use.
A Common Procedure With an Underappreciated Risk
Endotracheal intubation is one of the most frequently performed procedures in critical care. When a patient is intubated, an inflatable cuff on the endotracheal tube seals the airway — preventing aspiration and enabling mechanical ventilation. Managing the pressure in that cuff is a routine responsibility for the nursing and respiratory therapy team, but one that is surprisingly difficult to get right consistently.
Cuff pressure that is too high restricts blood flow to the tracheal mucosa, increasing the risk of tissue injury, scarring, and long-term airway damage. Pressure that is too low compromises the seal, creating a pathway for aspiration and ventilator-associated complications such as pneumonia. Clinical guidelines recommend maintaining pressure within a narrow range — but studies consistently show that a significant majority of intubated patients fall outside that range, often without clinicians being aware.
The problem is not a lack of awareness. It is a lack of a practical, continuous control and monitoring solution.
Automatic Modulation, Real-Time Protection
CuffWay is developing a smart device designed to automatically monitor and adjust endotracheal cuff pressure in real time — removing the reliance on periodic manual checks and reducing both clinician workload and patient risk.
The concept addresses the core failure mode directly: rather than asking busy ICU teams to check cuff pressure at intervals, the device maintains pressure continuously within the safe therapeutic range. The goal is to reduce tracheal injury risk, lower ventilator-associated event rates, and simplify a task that is easy to deprioritize in high-acuity clinical environments.
CuffWay was founded by a USC student, Shrihan Ganesh Babu, in 2025 and is based in Columbia, South Carolina.
Helping a Founder Build It Right
Dr. Boyd's involvement with CuffWay reflects one of his core areas of work: helping student-led and research-based ventures move from a well-defined clinical problem toward a disciplined, executable medical device development plan.
Over the course of his engagement with the CuffWay team, Dr. Boyd has contributed to device development strategy, regulatory pathway determination, intellectual property planning, and venture readiness — the same frameworks he teaches and applies across his consulting and expert witness work.
CuffWay is an example of the kind of early-stage medtech venture where Dr. Boyd's experience is most useful: a strong clinical insight, a motivated founder, and a clear need to translate that insight into a product development process that regulators, investors, and clinical partners can trust.
