ADD·FLO | Healthcare Device & Digital Design
Connected asthma care
Patient-focused and technology-driven
Asthma affects over 300 million people worldwide1. As a lifelong condition with no cure, implementing an effective management strategy that combines written advice and prescribed medication is currently believed to be the most successful way to treat asthma.
Managing asthma must be considered more broadly, with respect to the individual’s needs and desires. The management strategies put in place must be able to monitor and react to the many factors that affect or trigger the patient’s symptoms. The systems that enable this must provide meaningful benefits to the patient-healthcare professional relationship by continuously informing better treatment plans.
The ADD·FLO system enables us to think beyond the daily management of asthma as a medical condition or illness. By gathering relevant insights from other influencing factors, such as air quality and diet, the system empowers the patient to embrace asthma as part of their complete wellness regime so that they feel informed and in control of their respiratory health.
Miles Hawley
CEO
Recipe Design
ADD·FLO is a compact system that enables people with asthma to better understand their condition, take control of their symptoms and actively improve the quality of their lives.
Its unique combination of physical devices and digital tools work together to support better management of moderate asthma in adults.
By prioritising core patient and human needs, utilising cutting-edge technology and demonstrating future-facing solutions, ADD·FLO addresses asthma management holistically and intuitively, through Meaning Centred Design.
Smart hub
Positioned discreetly in a bathroom or bedroom, the ADD·FLO smart hub provides a designated, central touchpoint for asthma maintenance in the home.
It provides sterile storage for the MDI (Metered-Dose Inhaler) actuator and spirometry test, combined with a display that notifies the user of important notifications generated in the ADD·FLO app.
Breathing exercises
Individuals are encouraged to carry out breathing exercises before they administer their medication. This has been shown to aid treatment efficacy2 and contribute to better general health.
Removing the MDI from the smart hub automatically triggers a light display to guide the user through the timed breathing exercises, which are performed through the MDI.
The top of the MDI can be twisted to manipulate the airflow through the device, allowing the user to adjust it to their preferred level for optimum inhalation and exhalation.
MDI actuator
The reusable actuator houses a standard drug canister of the user’s daily preventer medication.
Rotating the bottom of the MDI creates an angled mouthpiece and primes the device for use. Medication is delivered automatically on inhalation, preventing the need for a co-ordinated pressing action for easier and more successful drug inhalation.
Once returned to the smart hub, a UV cleaning cycle is initiated to sterilise the device ready for the next use.
Spirometry test
The ADD·FLO system also provides a spirometry test which can be performed at home, with the ability for patients to send test results to their HCP remotely, through the connected app.
Initiating the test in the app automatically attaches the spirometry component to the MDI actuator, so it is ready to use when removed from the hub.
Performing regular spirometry tests is a useful way to monitor asthma severity and can highlight or predict any need for further medical intervention.
Connected app
As well as facilitating a spirometry test, the ADD·FLO app provides a platform for patients to track their symptoms and monitor their medication.
It also enables users to integrate data points from other apps and smart devices which track factors that may impact their asthma, such as weather, air quality and diet.
By overlaying and analysing these data points, the app generates richer insights about what can effect the user’s asthma. It can identify their specific triggers and advise on how they may be able to avoid exacerbations in future, ensuring they stay aware and in control of their symptoms at all times.
ADD·FLO offers a contemporary, sustainable system that delivers improved asthma management. It prioritises the human need for autonomy, elevates the patient experience through intelligent analytics and articulates that experience cohesively, through Meaning Centred Design.
Miles Hawley
CEO
Recipe Design
References
1World Health Organization, ‘The Global Impact of Respiratory Disease’
2The Pharmaceutical Journal, “Breathing out fully (or as much as is comfortable) reduces the amount of air in the airways and increases the available space for air from the next breath. The result is a deeper than normal inhalation, maximising the opportunity to carry the drug to the site of action.”
Recipe Design specialise in using consumer insight to inform meaningful design and innovation solutions in Health and Home. Whether it’s brand identity, structural packaging or device design and development, our approach can help you create smarter design solutions and experiences that prioritise patient and human needs.
If you want to understand more about ADD·FLO or find out how Meaning Centred Design can help you develop more distinctive, engaging and valuable product design, please get in touch with Natasha French Client Services today.,
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