The use of Metered Dose Inhalers (MDI) packaged medication are prevalent in the treatment of lung diseases particularly Asthma. MDI medications have inherent problems with repeatability of application. Spacers and other modified packages have attempted to improve the delivery but are inconvenient to use. We propose to apply biofeedback training principles into a small dispensing device not much larger than the current MDI plastic dispensers. Novel features of the device will insure that the medication has been taken correctly, that the patient is aware of their performance, and that this information is logged with date and time stamp in its internal memory. An existing device known as the MDI chronolog (formerly Nebulizer Chronolog), being sold by Forefront Engineering's affiliate, Forefront Technology, under the name MEDTRAC will be the basis for the design to which will be added airflow sensing, dosage sensing, audio and visual feedback as well as useful displays such as remaining doses in canister. The device will be programmable, lending itself to varying the training algorithms. The automatic recording of patient performance will for the first time allow outpatient MDI monitoring. The feedback and scoring is expected to improve the therapeutic benefit of MDI medications.
