Mask that shakes to help you breathe easy

AVIBRATING mask may make it easier and faster to treat people with breathing problems such as emphysema.

the device is a new type of nebuliser — commonly used for inhaling liquid medicine via a mask — and features a mesh that shakes more than 100,000 times a second.

this is thought to greatly reduce the size of the medication particles, so they penetrate inflamed airway tissue more easily and reduce symptoms faster than traditional nebulisers.

After a trial in the U.s. showed the device could reduce hospital admissions and led to a 75 per cent drop in medication, a study is under way in ireland.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an umbrella term for lung conditions such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis that make it hard to get air in and out of the lungs as the airways become inflamed and narrow.

this causes coughing, breathlessness and wheezing and usually develops as a result of smoking, but pollution and genetics can also be implicated. over time, the walls of the airways thicken and more mucus is produced.

the lung tissue starts to lose its elasticity and the cells deteriorate, causing air to become trapped. this makes the diseased area of the lung expand, compressing the healthier areas, and making breathing increasingly difficult.

treatment involves medication, often through nebulisers, to reduce inflammation and relax the airways. Conventional nebulisers use a motor to convert a liquid medicine into tiny droplets which are then inhaled through a mask.

the new Aerogen solo mask has a 5mm-wide vibrating mesh with 1,000 perforations which shrinks the droplets of medicine further.

As the liquid medicine passes through the device, this mesh vibrates 128,000 times a second. the smaller droplets it creates mean the medicine is absorbed faster and in greater concentrations. this is thought to reduce symptoms more quickly and stop patients needing to stay in hospital for treatment and monitoring.

in a study of COPD patients last year at st John hospital & Medical Center in Detroit, those who used the device had 32 per cent fewer admissions to hospital.

there was also a 75 per cent reduction in the amount of medication needed and a 13 per cent reduction in the length of hospital stays. in the new month-long trial at Beaumont hospital in ireland, 200 patients with COPD who turn up in A&e will be given a regular nebuliser or the vibrating one.

Doctors will compare lung capacity, symptoms such as breathlessness and coughing, as well as length of hospital stays.

Commenting on the device, Dr Richard Russell, a consultant chest physician and medical advisor to the British lung Foundation, says: ‘Being able to deliver medication efficiently and safely is essential to improving outcomes in patients with COPD.’

HeADDs: ‘Patients often find nebulisers hard to use, so any novel technology that enhances the delivery and makes it easier for patients is very welcome.

‘ this new technology is an exciting development and will enhance patient care.’

MEANWHILE, having a flu jab could lower the risk of flare-ups in COPD patients. A new study found viral infections may account for up to 50 per cent of attacks, while more than a quarter of those affected had the flu virus.

Research in the Journal of Microbiology, immunology and infection compared respiratory failure rates in patients who had been vaccinated against flu and those who had not — those who’d had the vaccine had a 17 per cent lower risk, the study from yangming University in taiwan said.