Final Project: Need for Device and Desired Outcome

Both asthma controller medication and quick relief medication treatments mentioned above commonly deliver therapeutic agents through an inhaler device. Inhalers are simple medical devices that release a mist of medication into the airways and lungs when a pressurized canister is compressed. Inhalers have a very specific set of instructions that must be followed in order for the medication to be most effective. However, a study published in the Journal of Pediatric Pulmonology showed that only 29% of children who had been trained using an inhaler performed all essential steps correctly, compared to 79% who had received comprehensive inhalation instructions in addition to follow-up technique checks at a pharmacy or in a clinical trial (Kamps, 2000). Other reports show that up to 90% of adults use incorrect techniques with their inhalers (National Asthma Council Australia, 2008). Proper inhalation techniques could avoid up to 75% of hospital admissions resulting from asthma attacks (Cambridge Consultants, 2012). One of the key steps for proper inhaler technique is shaking the inhaler for a minimum of five seconds prior to use. Dr. Howard Panitch, a Pediatric Pulmonologist at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital System, stated that one minute of device shaking would be ideal (Panitch, personal communication, April 3, 2012). While the literature suggests that inhaler training is not fully effective at ensuring procedure compliance to ensure that users get the most optimal dosage, current technologies on the market focus on better training tools to teach patients how to use their inhalers. A novel medical device that tells the user when the medication is sufficiently shaken is desired in order to deliver the most reliable dose. InhaleSur monitors the magnitude and frequency of shaking in order to tell the patient when the asthma inhaler is sufficiently shaken before inhalation.