Exhibiting the TubeClear System at the Oley Foundation’s Annual Conference was a new experience for the Actuated Medical team. While many conferences and trade shows target a specific audience, this one is a little different. A non-profit organization providing support to patients on total parenteral nutrition (TPN) or enteral nutrition (EN) and their families, the Oley Foundation invites everyone associated with these two nutritional health requirements to its Annual Conference. Attendees ranged from gastroenterologists and dietitians to the tube-fed patients themselves, allowing a glimpse at the bigger picture of EN and the impact of clogs. These are patients who rely on TPN or EN for their nutrition, medication, and hydration needs as they battle numerous conditions. For them, that tube is their lifeline – their world.

It was a humbling experience, to say the least. These individuals know feeding tubes, and they know clogs. In literature, clogs occur as often as 35% of the time. It seems like a small problem. But for the individual who experiences one, it’s a problem that can grow and affect many aspects of their lives.