Visualization of the obscure inhalation stage in inhalation therapy

Abstract

The flow of the inhalation procedure during inhalation therapy can be divided into three successive stages: a pre-inhalation preparatory stage, a drug inhalation stage, and a post-inhalation stage. Among these, the second stage, drug inhalation, is the most important and obscure. Using ambiguous verbal expression, the drug inhalation method is communicated to the patient using terms such as strongly, deeply, and slowly. Patients usually determine their optimal method of drug inhalation device independently, based on their own interpretation and understanding of the verbal instructions. This may make the precise inhalation using an inhalation device unpredictable. The Tokico Inhalation Monitor TM (TIM) was developed to resolve the unpredictability of this second (drug inhalation) stage. The TIM can simultaneously measure the inhalation flow rate, duration, and total volume, and display them on the screen in real-time. This mini-review demonstrates the effects of inhalation instruction using TIM, which allows the second stage of therapy, drug inhalation, to be displayed on a screen in real-time.