Taking the tears out of asthma

Two new concepts from leading European design and development company, Cambridge Consultants Ltd (CCL) aim to take the worry and stigma out of being a child with asthma. The number of children with asthma is growing. Already, it affects one in ten children throughout Europe, and the number of people recorded with asthma has doubled in the past decade.

In some countries such as Canada, Australia and the UK, the prevalence of children suffering with the disease is as high as 30%.

Despite these worrying statistics, childhood asthma management can be improved. Children can frequently be worried or stigmatised by current treatment practices that involve the use of a ‘spacer’ attached to a normal asthma inhaler and consequently may not use the device properly. Through the use of innovative design, engineers at CCL intend to make these drawbacks a thing of the past and deliver better asthma treatment for children across the world.

Successful treatment of asthma is directly linked to correct usage of the inhaler and its associated spacer, and the willingness of the child to use the apparatus. Many children up to the age of 15, but especially those under the age of 5, are unable to co-ordinate activating the inhaler and simultaneously breathing. Further, they often cannot manage to achieve the required minimum respiratory flow that allows the drug to be successfully delivered to the affected area of lung and bronchial tract. Spacers help children to get over both of these problems although, with being a large balloon-like piece of hollow transparent plastic, many find them cumbersome to carry around and they can worry small children when they first learn to use them. It is not unknown for children to carry a packed-lunch box just to transport their spacer, although the very process of doing so can mark them out from other children.

Engineers in CCL’s Drug Delivery group set about tackling the problem of how to make spacers appealing to children under the age of 15 whilst retaining device efficacy for successful treatment. CCL’s philosophy is that sources of innovation are all around us, but that you just need to know where to look. To tackle this problem the team turned to children’s toys, the ancient art of origami, and a toddler’s teaspoon to create a range of new concepts.

For hundreds of years the Japanese have been folding paper into decorative and useful shapes. Using similar principles Cambridge Consultants has designed a low cost collapsible spacer that allows patients to keep their spacer in their pocket. The spacers can be made from card or plastic and they offer significant benefits in a low cost device. Designs, or images of the latest super-hero or pop star could be printed onto the spacers so as to increase the attractiveness of the device. With a product made from card, and therefore disposable on a weekly basis, the design can even keep pace with children’s quickly changing tastes and trends.

Another idea was inspired by a ‘Jack in the Box’. A spring-loaded spacer has been designed that in its open state offers all the benefits of a standard spacer but by compressing the spring the patient is able to store the compact device in their pocket.

Further designs have been created to improve the image of spacers and increase their attractiveness to children. One such design uses thermochromatic plastics that change colour with temperature. These plastics are used in some children’s teaspoons to cause the spoon to change colour indicating the food is still too hot. Manufacturing the spacers out of these plastics allows the use of the spacer to be rewarded with the appearance of images or patterns as the body heat increases the temperature of the plastic.

Jon Tuckwell, who heads CCL’s Drug Delivery Group commented, "With as many as one in three children suffering with asthma, I’m amazed that little has been done to improve the problems associated with using a spacer. Whilst the disease is well understood and can be well treated, it is critical that the child is willing to use the delivery device. If they are unwilling to be seen carrying or using a spacer then they simply will not be getting the treatment they need. We know that certain devices,
such as mobile phones, are seen as the ‘cool’ accessories to have in the playground. My aim in this development is to take the cool elements and apply them to this problem."

The combination of science and design techniques to create new designs such as those described above has been shown to greatly improve the appeal of the spacers. The result is improved delivery of drug to the lungs, reduced systemic side effects and hence better asthma management for children across the world. Cambridge Consultants is currently discussing its patented concepts with a number of leading healthcare companies.

Initial research into the problems associated with treating children with asthma was conducted with the valuable support of the asthma nurses at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

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