GPS Based Inhaler Helps Identify Triggers of Asthma Attacks
Asthma is a very common illness. Worldwide, over 300 million people suffer from the inflammatory condition. Each year, is is estimated that over 250,000 people die from asthma attacks.
Asthma attacks are triggered by different things in different people. For example, my nephew always starts wheezing whenever he is near a grassy area such as a park or field. But his mother, my sister, only has asthma attacks whenever she is near second-hand smoke from cigarettes or cigars.
Because asthma attacks are triggered by different things in different people, doctors usually ask patients to track when and where their asthma attacks occur. Based on this concept, epidemiologist and medical anthropologist David Van Sickle has come up with a GPS add-on for asthma inhalers. Van Sickle’s company, Asthmapolis, created Spiroscout, a GPS based asthma inhaler, so doctors and asthmatics patients can identify the triggers of their asthma attacks.
When you have an attack and reach for your inhaler, the GPS tracking device will record the time and location of the attack; it can then either store or send the data to a remote server. It’s hoped that then a patient or doctor will be able to see patterns in when an attack happens, and what caused it–be it pollen or a chemical substance.