A start-up company called Amiko has launched a campaign on crowd funding site Indiegogo to raise money for manufacturing of its monitoring devices for a variety of dry powder inhalers, the company said. The stated fundraising goal is $50,000. Although a press release says that the device is wearable, it is unclear from the company’s marketing materials exactly how it would be worn.
Amiko President and Co-founder Duilio Macchi commented, “We learned medication adherence is a huge global problem and thought there had to be a way to use advanced motion and weight change algorithms, dedicated high tech sensors and Bluetooth to devise a solution. We created a wearable that automatically collects data about usage, helping patients stay on track with their meds, providing instant feedback and eliminating errors due to prescription timing and dosage.”
According to the company, Amiko plans to make the devices available in March 2015 for a price of about $50 each. The timeline depicted on the company’s IndieGoGo page does not include any regulatory filings.
Rewards offered on the crowdfunding site at different funding levels include a necklace, a tee shirt, and various forms of the Amiko devices, which the company says “fits most dry powder inhaler packaging, including all accuhalers, aerolizers, handihalers and turbuhalers.” For patients who lack a smartphone, the company says that the “Amiko Hub” can provide alerts.
According to an Amiko video, the monitoring device ensures that capsules are loaded correctly into the DPI, the positioning of the DPI, and inhalation, as well as having the capability to store records and produce reports; however, the video does not show actual operation of the device.
Read the Amiko press release.
View the Indiegogo page.
