Tracheal intubation has long been regarded as the gold standard in airway management. Although this has been debated in the context of prehospital emergency airway management,1 there are undoubtedly a number of advantages to securing the airway with a cuffed tracheal tube.

Subsequently, a number of different devices have evolved to assist with difficult airway management. Alternative airways to the tracheal tube that do not involve seeing the vocal cords directly (supraglottic airways) are becoming increasingly popular, and in situations where tracheal intubation is to be attempted, devices that assist in the visualisation of the vocal cords have been embraced with enthusiasm by many prehospital and hospital providers …