Access Airways

What Access Airways does

Access Airways, operating as TJB Medical, Inc. (headquartered in Blaine, Minnesota), is a private medical device company founded in 2002 that has developed and commercialized the QuickSteer, a single-use articulating stylet designed to navigate difficult airways during endotracheal intubation. The device features full two-way articulation with 180-degree bi-directional capability including retroflexion (S-Curve), a single-hand finger-grip controller, an atraumatic soft tip, and tactile feedback. It is sterilized, latex-free, has a 26.4-inch stylet length, a minimum endotracheal tube inner diameter of 5 mm, and a two-year shelf life (Product No. 10000-500). QuickSteer is intended to work with both direct and video laryngoscopes and to improve first-pass intubation success in cases of unanticipated difficult airway, which the company cites as affecting roughly 10% of the approximately 25 million intubations performed annually in the US (including about 15 million in operating rooms and 650,000 outside the OR).

Name

Access Airways

Legal name

TJB Medical, Inc.

Website

https://accessairways.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Airway Management Medical Devices

NAICS

Surgical Appliance and Supplies Manufacturing (339113)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Airway Management Devices (ET Tubes, LMAs, Tracheostomy, Suction) (HLAHAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Anesthesia & Airway Management Equipment (Workstations, Laryngoscopy, Ventilation adjuncts) (HLAHADAJ)

Keywords

• Airway management devices
• Intubation aids
• Medical devices
• Difficult airway navigation
• Articulating stylet

Headquarters

HQ city

Blaine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Medical Device Sales: Access Airways generates revenue through the sale of its QuickSteer intubation device, a single-use medical device sold to hospitals, healthcare institutions, and clinicians. The company offers quote-based pricing and appears to sell directly to healthcare providers.
2. Legal Entity Structure: TJB Medical, Inc. DBA Access Airways, operating as a medical device company with wholly owned subsidiaries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Access Airways develops and sells the QuickSteer™, a single-use, articulating stylet intubation aid designed to help clinicians navigate difficult airways safely and quickly. The device features full two-way bidirectional articulation with 180-degree retroflexion (S-Curve), single-hand operation via an intuitive finger controller, and an atraumatic soft tip. It is sold to hospitals, operating rooms, emergency departments, and ICUs for use by anesthesiologists, ER physicians, and CRNAs performing endotracheal intubation.

Product overview

Access Airways offers a single unified medical device product—the QuickSteer™ articulating stylet—for intubation in airway management. The QuickSteer™ is an innovative intubation aid with full two-way bidirectional articulation and retroflexion (S-Curve) capability, designed for single-hand operation to help clinicians of all experience levels navigate difficult airways. The company provides supporting resources including white papers on airway anatomy, intubation techniques, and clinical outcomes, as well as testimonials from intubation specialists. Product specifications indicate it is a single-use, sterilized, latex-free device with a 2-year shelf life.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• QuickSteer™: An innovative intubation device designed to help clinicians navigate difficult airways safely and quickly. Features full two-way articulation, single-hand operation, and is designed to reduce intubation time and improve first-pass success rates.

Products and services

• QuickSteer™ Articulating Intubation Device

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 90% of difficult airways are unanticipated, making a reliable intubation aid essential for all airway management cases
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• University of Minnesota Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center (BMDC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 July 2021BMDC conducted an independent design review of Access Airways' device concept, evaluating it as 'positive' with confirmed technical feasibility. The review by an interdisciplinary team including anesthesiologists and medical device experts validated that the device 'fuses the best of a Bougie with flexibility of the fiber-scope' and could improve time and percent of successful intubations when optical equipment is not available.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Vyaire Medical: Vyaire Medical specializes in respiratory and airway management products including endotracheal tubes, ventilation circuits, and intubation accessories used in ORs and ICUs. Its single-use airway product portfolio competes directly with Access Airways' QuickSteer in hospital procurement decisions.
• ICU Medical (Smiths Medical): ICU Medical acquired Smiths Medical, whose portfolio includes Portex endotracheal tubes and airway management devices used in the same difficult intubation procedures targeted by QuickSteer. Competes as a broad-line incumbent across multiple airway management categories.
• Karl Storz: Karl Storz is a global leader in endoscopy and video laryngoscopy (C-MAC platform) used for difficult intubation. As an established visualization incumbent with extensive OR penetration, it competes with QuickSteer as either a substitute or complementary tool in the airway management workflow.
• Medtronic: Medtronic offers a broad airway management portfolio including endotracheal tubes, laryngoscopes, and the Shiley brand used in ORs and ICUs. As a global medtech incumbent with deep hospital relationships, it represents both a competitor and a potential strategic acquirer for Access Airways.
• Teleflex: Teleflex markets a broad portfolio of airway management products including endotracheal tubes, laryngoscopes, and the Rusch and Hudson RCI brands used in difficult airway procedures. As a diversified medical device incumbent with established hospital sales channels, it competes broadly with Access Airways across the airway management continuum.

Emerging players

• Flexicare: Flexicare is a privately-held specialist in airway management and anesthesia consumables, selling single-use endotracheal tubes, laryngeal masks, and intubation aids into hospitals globally. As a focused, privately-held airway device company of comparable scale to Access Airways, it represents the closest head-to-head competitive analog.

Direct peers

• Intersurgical: Intersurgical manufactures a comprehensive range of single-use airway management devices including endotracheal tubes, bougies, and supraglottic airways sold into hospitals and anesthesia departments. Its bougie and intubation aid product lines directly overlap with the QuickSteer clinical use case.
• Ambu A/S: Ambu is a leading manufacturer of single-use disposable airway devices including laryngoscopes and bronchoscopes targeting the same difficult-airway clinical use cases as QuickSteer. Its single-use disposable model closely mirrors Access Airways' go-to-market approach with hospitals.
• Cook Medical: Cook Medical produces airway exchange catheters and intubation aids used in difficult airway management procedures. As a specialty medical device manufacturer with strong hospital distribution in airway and critical care, it competes in the same clinical niche as Access Airways.
• Verathon (GlideScope): Verathon's GlideScope is one of the most widely adopted video laryngoscope platforms used for difficult airway intubation in ORs, EDs, and ICUs. As a video laryngoscope, it directly competes with—and complements—QuickSteer's articulating stylet in the same difficult-airway clinical workflow.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/access-airways

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Access Airways