A Development for Asthmatic Divers: Development of An underwater Inhaler

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To your first point....your sentiment that there are "casual asthmatics" is indicative that you might be married to the idea of your invention above and beyond reason. If one is not so afflicted that they do not need medication then your device is not necessary, and if one is symptomatic and using medication to intercede and control asthmatic episodes where your solution would be handy, they should not be diving.

To your second point...the example that I gave were not arguments against the device you are engineering, they were examples of why asthmatics, who are symptomatic, should not be diving.

Again, this is not about what can be done...if we, as a human race, were able to put and maintain a space station in orbit around the planet, devising a way to administer inhaled medication while underwater should not be all that difficult....it is a question of should it be done. To me, based on what I know of asthma, having grown up with it, having a background in athletic training/exercise science, there answer is "no". If one is going to use inhaled medication prophylactically, there are medications like cromolyn sodium (Intal) that if used on a regular/continuous basis has been seen to be effective at preventing asthmatic episodes....the issue is that one needs to take this medication regularly, not just the morning of a dive, to be effective. One could also argue that if one is taking this type of medication that they should not be diving, as it is evidence that they are symptomatic as the medication is prescribed to control the symptoms/prevent episodes. I can't think of a valid reason why someone with asthma, "casual" or not, that needs to take medication for it, should be diving...they are increasing the risk for themselves and those they are diving with.

-Z

I switched off after your first sentence as you've implied disrespect. Chill.

There is no devise, there is a concept, which im just throwing ideas around for. Your opinions are your opinions. Good market research though for me. :)
 
Im not sure yet, would involve flow testing which is potentially on the cards. My assumption as a young engineer:

Pressure increases when diving occurs due to the compression from weight of water. The human body has equilibrium pressure with air, or near so, (shown as you are steady state in atmospheric pressure, but the body would explode in space because of the imbalance) but as the water pressure increases it is compressed. comes from the equation pressure = force / area. This is not the same, or more accurately said, negligible when you have something encased in metal or something which will resist the pressure. You do not see a drop or gain in your air pressure if you look at your gauges when you descend if you get what i mean. therefore in an asthma canister, the pressure as long as the canister shows enough resistive force should remain constant, therefore each does will remain constant (as dosage is subject to factors of open valve time and internal pressure).


I don't know sh*t but I'm a gonna go ahead and say that it will. You should start from there. Hell, if you could make an inhaler for scubafed I'd be first in line.
 
And what of the situation where an asthma attack occurs and the device fails to deliver or the attack doesn't subside, or it does not subside completely?

This is not an issue for want of an engineering solution...there are physiological issues that exist in diving that do not marry well with the affects of asthma. Administering medication is only one part of the equation...there is still the timeframe for the medication to take effect, there are concerns about the administration of the medication as it applies to diving, the typical inhaler requires the subject to exhale as much as possible, and then inhale fully and hold that inhale for a number of seconds....

....exhaling fully to the point the lungs are empty is not recommended when diving because it can cause collapse of some of the alveoli which don't always immediately rebound. Holding one's breath after inhaling the dose of medication is not recommended either, as this can cause overexpansion injuries if one were to rise in the water column...which is a relevant possibility when taking a very large breath.

Then there is the issue of timing...what happens when an attack occurs at a depth of 40 meters where one has very limited no-deco time? A recreational diver having an asthma attack might find themselves doing a decompression dive that they have no training or planning for, nor the gas reserve to be able to handle such a dive.

How about the asthmatic diver having an attack at similar depths to the example above but they are suffering from narcosis, and although they are having an attack, the narcosis interferes with their decision making process and they fail to administer the medication.

How about the person who takes that deep breath to inhale the dose of medication delivered but spasms and coughs uncontrollably and aspirates water?

What about the person who does not realize they are having an attack, so they don't administer the medication and they become injured because due to blocked airway passages?

There is a reason why symptomatic asthma is a contraindication for diving....it presents a very real danger to the afflicted and that danger is problematic to those diving with them as well.

Diving is a great activity, I love it, and I would love to share my love for it with everyone, but there are some that for nothing more than their physiological condition and the risk(s) it presents, should just not dive.

-Z

We never exhale to the point of completely emptying our lungs. Symptomatic asthma is not an absolute contraindication to diving, but a relative one, as evidenced by the many asthmatics who are active divers. I agree that, if the physical barrier are overcome and this is successfully developed, it should not be used as a way of continuing a dive but rather a way to allow someone to more safely end their dive for the reasons I previously stated.
 
I believe albuterol (the active ingredient in asthma inhalers) can be taken intravenously. If you had to take it underwater, an epi-pencil type injector seems simple enough.

Epi-pens do not deliver epinephrine intravenously. They deliver it intramuscular. The effect is somewhat different, as is the dose. You do not want to try and find a vein to inject yourself in an emergency situation. Few people would be successful.
Albuterol is the active ingredient and before inhalers were developed, there was (and still is) a couple of intravenous drugs for use during asthma attacks. They are still used under very specific circumstances, in a controlled hospital (usually ICU) setting. Not something for DIY use, especially not underwater.
 
I hold three patents on devices that are unmarketable simply due to projected liability insurance costs. All are for attractive, remarkable and innovative products, causing sufficient demand to far exceed investment, mold costs, etc. ...

There is a difference between that and a university course project. With the latter even if you don't have a product to sell, it still pays off: you graduate.
 
you are purely considering an attack, which is the most severe reaction possible, while asthma operates and has effect on people on a less extreme manor. im talking about people getting a little shortness of breath, wheezing a little etc.

Not to discourage you from completing your course project, but... "shortness of breath and wheezing a little" may be a sign of developing IPE, for which asthma is one of the suspected risk factors. I strongly suspect any hyperbaric doctor will tell you this is a bad idea long before it gets killed by the product liability insurance nazis. :wink:
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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