sthma is not a medical condition that you should scoff at, since not treating it properly could result in life threatening consequences. This is the reason most asthmatics tote around an inhaler, no matter how unsexy it looks, and researcher Dr. David Van Sickle who was with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), decided to jump at the opportunity to use inhalers as a device that collects epidemiological data concerning asthma.
This is made possible thanks to it being equipped with GPS and Wi-Fi-capabilities. A special inhaler such as this is known as the Spiroscout, will be able to take a reading each time the user takes a puff, and collected data includes time of use and the location where it was used. All collected data will be shipped to a central computer for further analysis. This paves the way for remote analysis of a patient’s inhaler use, and it would help in making adjustments where necessary in the patient’s medication schedule.
The big question is this – will it be affordable enough for the masses?
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