3D printed Sneezometer helps asthma patients breathe easy

University of Surry researchers have created a ‘sneezometer’ that is sensitive enough to measure the speed of a sneeze and can also help to diagnose respiratory conditions like asthma

The 3D printed ‘sneezometer’, is an airflow sensor or ‘spirometer’. Spirometers measure lung capacity and are used to diagnose chronic and acute respiratory conditions including asthma, obstructive sleep apnoea and hypopnoea.

However, current devices are expensive, cumbersome and lack the sensitivity required in difficult diagnostic situations, such as neonatal care, according to the University.

Surrey’s sneezometer measures the flow of air through a patient's lungs. When the patient breathes through the fist-sized instrument, the sneezometer picks up tiny fluctuations in the breath’s flow rate, which may be caused by a disease.

David Birch, of the University of Surrey’s aerodynamics and environmental flow research group, said: “Breathing disorders are highly prevalent in the developed and developing world.

“The diagnosis and monitoring of respiratory diseases is key to proper treatment and we have now developed a simple, low-cost and non-intrusive diagnostic solution that will make doctors lives easier across the world.”

Paul Nathan, the sneezometer's co-inventor, added: “We have created a portable, highly sensitive and accurate spirometer that can catch the speed of a sneeze.

“What’s almost as impressive is that we created this innovative device using simple 3D printing technology, with all of the prototypes ‘printed’ around the internal electronics.”

 Prashant Kumar, from the University of Surrey, said: “Air pollution was recently placed in the top ten health risks faced by human beings globally, with the World Health Organization linking air pollution to seven million premature deaths every year.

“The availability of an inexpensive and portable diagnostic device such as this will assist in such diseases being diagnosed, and treated at earlier stages.”

The Sneezometer is currently being trialled at Kings College Hospital, London. Manasi Nandi, senior lecturer in integrative pharmacology at King's College London, said: “The ability to measure the sensitivity of airflow detection and pull out other information from single breath is very interesting from both a research and clinical perspective.

“This is currently not picked out with conventional tests and we have already been using it to mimic testing of asthma.”

The University of Surry said that it is envisages that the new device could be in clinical service as soon as 2018.