GPS-enabled inhaler to support real-time mapping of asthma exacerbations Team: Michael Alexander, Samantha Bergh, Mollie Lange and Peter Ma BME 301 March 2007

Department of Biomedical Engineering Client David Van Sickle, Ph.D. Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholar Department of Population Health Sciences Advisor Ken Gentry Department of Biomedical Engineering

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Content Contents Problem Statement Background Motivation Design Constraints Proposed Designs Design Matrix Future Work

Problem Statement Time, date, location of inhaler use Development of a web-based mapping and analytic system (future semesters).

Background Asthma A chronic respiratory disease in which the airways are blocked or narrowed due to allergy or inflammation. ~ 20 million Americans affected by this disease.

Background GPS First developed for the military. Widely used in communication, recreation and safety. Uses signal transmission time to triangulate its position

Motivation Tracking of allergy and asthma symptoms Outbreak control General health observations with respect to populations in certain areas Surveillance limited to the delayed analysis of hospitalizations for severe episodes Currently no product on the market

Design Constraints Must meet FDA standards for use Secure attachment for peripherals Subject to normal wear and tear Can be battery powered Wireless Accurate

Design 1: Pressure Detection with GPS Separate Pressure sensor mounted on inhaler Microcontroller contacts cell phone, which retrieves GPS coordinates Cell phone formats data and sends to central computer

Pros & Cons Portable No major modification to inhaler No need to buy separate GPS Difficult to set pressure threshold perfectly Relies on cell phone, which is easily forgotten, to collect data

Design 2: Contact Detection with GPS Separate Circuit completes when inhaler depresses Microcontroller contacts cell phone to get coordinates Cell phone formats data and sends to central computer

Pros & Cons Reduces false positives Still very portable No need to buy separate GPS Major modification to inhaler Again relies on cell phone to collect data

Design 3: Contact Detection with GPS attached Circuit completes when inhaler depresses Onboard GPS retrieves date, time, location and stores in CPU memory Microcontroller attempts to connect to cell phone and sends the information via Bluetooth Cell phone formats coordinates and transmits

Pros & Cons Few false positives GPS directly attached Temporarily stores data just in case Larger to accommodate GPS and Bluetooth Increased cost, decreased battery life

Design Matrix Criterion (Weight) Design 1 Design 2 Design 3 Patient Safety (3) 5 4 Accuracy (3) 3 Low Cost (3) 2 Data Backup (2) Feasibility (2) Ease of use (2) Connectivity (2) Portability (1) Battery Life (1) Aesthetics (1) TOTAL 72 76 81

Future Work Creation of an inhaler Sending of data Mapping Establish research protocol Patenting Applying for funding

References Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America http://www.aafa.org American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology http://www.aaaai.org How Stuff Works: GPS http://www.howstuffworks.com/gps.htm MDILog™, DoserCT™, and SmartMist™ Product Specifications