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8439005 
Meetings & Symposia 
Device for the assessment of patient compliance to aerosol drug therapy 
Harrison, DR; Burns, CP; Hare, JF; O'Connor, SA 
1989 
Publ by Alliance for Engineering in Medicine & Biology 
e, WA, USA 
Images of the Twenty-First Century - Proceedings of the 11th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Part 1 
11 pt 5 
1662 
English 
Summary form only given. A simple electromechanical device for the assessment of aerosol drug therapy usage and consequent patient compliance to this drug regimen is briefly described. A commercially avialable six-digit counter that has the advantage of a contact closure reset is used. An RC network ensures that after the initial count, further counts are inhibited for approximately 1 s. The unit is powered by a 3-V lithium manganese dioxide battery. A current consumption of 15 μA gives a life expectancy of the battery of 120 days, far in excess of the time in which the 200 doses in an inhaler are expected to be used under normal circumstances. The device has been successfully tested in the laboratory by discharging a number of metered dose inhalers. Clinical trials are in progress. 
Spelman Francis, A.