Student invents slimline inhaler

The inhaler is the same shape as a credit card

A 22-year-old student has invented an asthma inhaler which is small enough to fit into a wallet or purse.

Mild asthma sufferer Adam Bates, from Witney, Oxfordshire, created the 6mm- thick Thinhaler as an alternative to the inhalers most sufferers carry.

"I wanted the inhaler to fit in with the lifestyle of someone who has asthma," said the design student.

The inhaler is the same shape as a credit card and contains between 50 and 100 doses of dry powder medication.

A friend of mine told me how when she went to the pub or to clubs she didn't want to take her inhaler. Adam Bates

At the onset of an asthma attack, the user lifts and turns a lid, seals the lips around the mouthpiece, inhales deeply and hold his or her breath for 10 seconds to allow the powder enough time to settle in the lungs.

The final year student at Brunel University said: "A friend of mine told me how when she went to the pub or to clubs she didn't want to take her inhaler.

"She always had a credit card with her, though, so I thought if I built an inhaler as small as that she could fit it in her pocket or purse."

He said he had applied for a patent for the Thinhaler and is in early discussion with a healthcare company.

About 5.1 million people in the UK have asthma, which equates to about one in 13 adults.

There are four types of commonly-used inhaler at present: the metered dose device, turbohaler, spacer, and accuhaler.