Asthma inhaler provides dose only when airflow is at optimum rate

The NEXThaler is a rethinking of the device that releases the correct dose only when the user is breathing in at the optimum rate.

Asthma is a condition that has no cure, but can be treated with regular use of an inhaler to take in medicine. However, this can often be an annoyance for sufferers, and innovations such as the T-Haler have already tried to make the activity more fun through gamification. Now the NEXThaler is a rethinking of the device that releases the correct dose only when the user is breathing in at the optimum rate. Created by the UK branch of pharmaceutical firm Chiesi and product developers Cambridge Consultants, the inhaler is smaller and more convenient to carry than traditional models and doesn’t require users to have a separate peak flow meter. Instead, the device has a built-in sensor that detects when the user’s airflow is at the optimum rate to receive the medicine, which comes in the form of extrafine drug particles. Users only need to breathe in, wait for the inhaler to release the drugs and replace the cap to reset the mechanism for the next dose. Chiesi has already released the NEXThaler onto the market in Germany and hopes to roll out across Europe in the coming months. The NEXThaler makes the process more convenient for asthma sufferers and also boosts their health by ensuring the dose is applied correctly and efficiently. Are there other conditions that could benefit from redesigning commonly-used devices? Spotted by: Smith Alan