Patient Acceptance Evaluation of Wearable Technology for Inhaler Training in Primary Care

I invented an ultra-sensitive knitted sensor integrated in garments to measure breathing patterns. A major advantage of my invention is its every-day look.

My implementation moves away from tight fitting sports garments to measure bio-signals to snug fitting knitted vests in cotton or wool.

Figure 1 illustrates possible implementations - (a) a fully knitted implementation and (b) knitted sensors sewn on a cotton shirt. Figure 2 illustrates a breathing pattern from the chest and abdomen sensors during simulated inhaler use.

Medical practitioners interested in this technique believe that fully knitted implementations are an attractive tool to support primary care in lung disease.

The British Lung Foundation estimates that 1.2 million people in the UK live with COPD and 8 million with asthma, making these the most prevalent lung diseases in the country.

The financial burden of lung disease to the UK totals approximately 11 billion pounds per year, which is dominated by COPD and asthma care, and mainly carried by the NHS.

Management of COPD and asthma relies on inhaler use adherence and technique, as well as on non-pharmacological approaches for self-management like breathing techniques.

This can only be effectively implemented using technology that is inconspicuous, easy to use and does not require frequent intervention from medical professionals.

Communications with experts from the National Heart and Lung Institute highlight interest in the potential of our vest to be used as a breathing pattern observer and inhaler use training tool. This technology can have impact in the area of lung disease self-management programmes.

The vest, together with wireless technology and machine learning, gives automatic feedback on quality of breathing and inhaler use, and can train the wearer in good breathing skills.

Automation in lung health observation and improvement of inhaler use will reduce the cost of healthcare in primary care.