A STUDENT who has suffered from acute asthma since he was a child has developed an inhaler which signals whether a user has taken the right dosage.
Josh Averill, 22, an undergraduate in product design at Nottingham Trent University, says his invention has the potential to alleviate people's symptoms by helping ensure they administer the medicine correctly.
His prototype has been on show at the university's Art and Design Degree Shows this week.
The inhaler features a sensor that measures airflow. If the user breathes in correctly – and in doing so increases the airflow – a green LED lights up. But if an inadequate amount is inhaled, a red one comes on.
Two buzzes are also sounded: the first to signal when the user should start to inhale and the second to let them know when to stop holding their breath.
"I really like the thought that it could help other people who have difficulties with asthma," Josh said.
"Quite a few of the problems people have are related to the fact that they are not getting the correct dosage from their inhaler. If this happens for a long period of time, a person's asthma can get worse."
Josh undertook research with 60 different people – including schoolchildren, fellow university students and older people – and asked asthmatics and non-asthmatics to test the prototype. He also interviewed specialist doctors and nurses.