Innovation of the week: Smart inhalers

Smart inhalers are helping map danger zones for asthma, said Ariel Schwartz at Fast Company. Residents in Louisville are using sensor-equipped inhalers to automatically track where and when they're having difficulty breathing. Researchers are using the data from the inhalers along with EPA air sensors to help measure "the connection between air quality, environmental factors, and asthma severity."

Two thousand asthmatics are participating in the yearlong study. Propeller Health, which specializes in technology for managing chronic respiratory disease and is a partner in the research, plans to expand its asthma-monitoring program to five cities over the next five years to create maps of "asthma hot spots." The company also plans to study where climate change will have the most impact on people with chronic respiratory disease.

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