An add-on sensor is only worth fitting if it measures accurately, and not just on the device it was designed around. The harder test is whether it holds up on inhalers it didn't grow up with. In 2018 we put Respiro Sense to that test on a partner's hardware.
Presented at Drug Delivery to the Lungs (DDL) 2018, the study fitted Respiro Sense as an add-on to two of Merxin's dry-powder inhalers, a capsule-based and a blister-based device. Using breath-simulation apparatus, it collected the measures that matter for inhaled therapy, peak inspiratory flow, inhaled volume, inhalation time and the whole flow profile, and compared the add-on's readings against the reference.
Across those parameters, Respiro Sense agreed with the reference to around 90% accuracy or better, with the inhalation manoeuvre detected reliably. Early as it was, the result pointed to something that has shaped the platform since: connected sensing didn't have to be built into a device to be trustworthy.
Why an add-on, on someone else's device
Not every programme starts with a connected inhaler. Many start with one already chosen, launched or familiar to patients, and the add-on route is how Respiro reaches those. This study was an early sign that the route works: lab-grade accuracy, on hardware Amiko didn't make. The same principle now runs through our add-on sensor range, alongside the integrated RS01X.
"If the sensing only works on our own device, it isn't much use. The point of an add-on is that it earns trust on the inhalers patients already have."
Martijn Grinovero, Chief Commercial Officer, Amiko
This was a device-accuracy study presented as a conference paper, measuring how faithfully the sensor reads an inhalation, not a study of patient outcomes. The rest of the evidence behind Respiro sits on our evidence page.
Source: Rogueda P, Grinovero M, Ponti L, Purkins G, Croad O. Telehealth Ready: Performance of the Amiko Respiro Sense connected technology with Merxin DPIs. Drug Delivery to the Lungs (DDL) 2018. Conference paper; device-accuracy study. Reports how accurately the sensor measures an inhalation; not a claim of treatment efficacy or individual outcomes.