Asthma kills three people in the UK every day, but a Manchester-based entrepreneur believes his device could save thousands of lives.
CEO of Aerobit Ali Moiyed has battled the condition most of his life and decided to do something as his seven-year-old daughter Ruqaiyya is also a sufferer.
Asthma kills 250,000 worldwide every year, but the 40-year-old says 75 per cent of these deaths are avoidable.
The problem, he believes, isn鈥檛 with the treatment but making sure patients take their medication 鈥� which is the idea for Aerobit.
The device is an elasticated, one-size-fits-all jacket that transforms inhalers into smart devices, similar to Fitbit.
Measuring just 3.2cm, it connects them to a mobile app and reminds patients to take their medication, keeping track of the doses.
Explaining the idea the Stockport-based inventor said: 鈥淲hen my daughter Ruqaiyya suffered an asthma attack my wife and I realised that we didn鈥檛 know 100 per cent whether she鈥檇 taken her medication, the dose she鈥檇 taken or the precise time she鈥檇 had it.
鈥淲e were worried if we gave it again she could overdose.
鈥淎s responsible parents we felt guilty but when we did our research we found that most parents had a similar experience.
鈥淧eople live busy lives and you can鈥檛 watch your children 24/7, especially when they鈥檙e at school.
鈥淭he vital thing for patients like Ruqaiyya is that they take right dosage of medication at the right time.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 where the Aerobit device comes in.
鈥淭he smart bit is the Aerobit device uses patented sensor-based technology to detect when you鈥檝e taken your meds and sends a signal to the mobile app.
鈥淭he important bit is it doesn鈥檛 rely on the patient to feed in information so it鈥檚 ideal for elderly or very young asthmatics who might forget to take their medication on time.鈥�
Moiyed has submitted a patent application for the technology and has a track record of setting up companies.
He previously founded Manchester-based fintech business AccessPay, growing it from two people to 160 and raising millions of dollars in the process from investors.
The Aerobit device is set to be launched early this year and has attracted interest from the pharmaceutical industry, inhaler manufacturers, hospitals and health insurance companies. It could be sold per unit or rented out.
Moiyed is also looking at ways of making it fun for children to use the device so it鈥檚 seen as a toy rather than a medical product.
He added: 鈥淭hree people die every day because of asthma in the UK and given the fact that both my daughter and I have the condition the incentive to make Aerobit a success couldn鈥檛 be greater.鈥�