3D HELP FOR ASTHMA SUFFERERS
posted 04 April 2016 at 13:45:41
A French medical technology start-up company has produced a
3D printed asthma inhaler that, using Bluetooth plus patient and open data,
creates real-time maps of trigger areas to help patients and doctors better
understand the respiratory disease and its causes.
Kappa Santé developed the product, called Connect'inh, as
part of its mission to create digital solutions to study patterns, causes and
effects of health and disease on certain populations. The company produces
tools that assist researchers to identify risk factors, the effects of drugs
and preventative measures.
The Connect'inh's integrated GPS, memory card and Bluetooth
connection automatically store and send data, such as location, date and time,
to the user's smartphone every time the inhaler medication is released. This
data can then be processed by doctors and other asthmatics to build up a
clearer picture of problem locations and the allergens that are present there
at different times of the day, month or year. As well as its immense research
value, it could be of enormous benefit to sufferers in their day-to-day lives,
helping them to avoid places their asthma could be triggered at particular
times by downloading and checking their inhaler history in PDF form. They could
also share their information with others.
Kappa
Santé is currently working with financial backers to further develop the
prototype, with a view to bringing it to market in 2017.