Peak flow meters are meant to be used by asthmatic people to monitor lung function, specifically how efficiently air is exhaled. Patients with frequent asthma attacks tend to be more vigilant in keeping an eye on their peak expiratory flow, but children and those with rare attacks tend to ignore their meters. A new device from digiDoc Technologies, a Norwegian firm, will soon be released to help improve the compliance rates of people using peak flow meters.

The Fluke – Asthma Whistle looks like a toy whistle, and is operated like one, but actually works like a proper peak flow meter. Unlike traditional meters, the Fluke produces a whistling sound that changes in relation to the air pressure applied. The device itself doesn’t have any electronics, but instead uses a nearby smartphone to listen to the whistle and interpret the sound into a pressure reading.

Because all that kids have to do is whistle, something they seem to already love, compliance might improve significantly. We’ll certainly see if that’s the case once the device becomes available, as promised by digiDoc sometime later this year.

source:digiDoc Technologies