David Van Sickle, a researcher at Department of Population Health Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with help from the students of the University's Bio-Mechanical Engineering program, is working on an asthma inhaler with a built in GPS unit reports CNET.
What? Now, what has GPS got to do with asthma attacks, you might ask. Well, the reason for the interest in GPS is to keep a tab on the trigger points where asthmatics usually tend to get attacks and start using inhalers. With GPS technology, researchers will be able to digitally "mark" areas where the attacks usually happen as potentially hazardous zones.
In short, each time a sufferer uses the inhaler, the location is tagged. After receiving data from a sizable audience, the researchers will be able to mark areas where attack rates are higher as unsafe zones. The ultimate aim is of course to save lives and maybe in the future will help scientists figure out the answer to the age-old question: Why do people suffer from asthma in the first place?
Hopefully, once the trials of the inhaler are over, it will be made available to a wider user base. U.S. residents can apply for participating in the trials by calling 608-261-1036 or e-mailing your expression of interest to asthmap@mailplus.wisc.edu.
