Airflow sensors in medical practice

Miniature airflow and air velocity sensors have emerged as indispensable tools in the medical industry, with the power to revolutionise patient care, diagnostics, and environmental control within healthcare facilities.

Flusso’s range of incomparably compact, accurate, and reliable sensors offer real-time monitoring capabilities that place them at the forefront of the medical industry’s move towards greater efficiency.

In this blog, we have explored how airflow sensors are invaluable across various medical applications, from respiratory therapy to surgical environments, as well as how such sensors might apply to other use cases in the future.

Suggested reading: Keen to find out more about flow sensor applications in the medical industry — and beyond? Get a free copy of our eBook, Flow Unleashed.

Surgical environments and infection control

This medical application — something of a crossover with the HVAC industry — is an incredible testament to the big impacts of miniature airflow sensors. In surgical theatres and in medical wards, maintaining clean air is paramount to maximising patient health and staving off airborne infections.

Miniature airflow sensors enable healthcare facilities to monitor air filtration efficiency in real-time and maintain positive pressure environments that adhere to strict sterile conditions. By detecting fluctuations and flow direction in airflow patterns, these sensors facilitate prompt intervention to address potential contamination risks, safeguarding patient safety during surgical procedures. This medical application is especially pertinent where there are immunocompromised patients, preventing the spread of infectious diseases by detecting air stagnation or inadequate ventilation and prompting corrective actions such as air purification measures.

Respiratory monitoring

Respiratory pathologies require patients’ breathing patterns to be closely monitored, and remedies to be applied with timely precision. Miniature airflow sensors play a pivotal role by accurately measuring airflow rates and detecting irregularities. Our sensors can be used to assist the diagnosis and management of respiratory conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and sleep apnea.

Flusso’s flow sensors can be seamlessly integrated into respiratory monitoring machines to provide real-time feedback on patients’ breathing, enabling healthcare providers to adjust treatments promptly and optimise patient comfort and safety.

Ventilator management

As an extension to the above, mechanical ventilators are used to precisely control airflow and pressure levels for patients who require assisted breathing. By continuously monitoring airflow and velocity, sensors help healthcare professionals tailor ventilation settings to individual patient needs, enhancing respiratory support and minimising the risk of ventilator-induced lung injury.

Major medical applications: Flusso and drug delivery systems

In the administration of medicine — both within hospital settings and at home — precise airflow control is essential for accurate dosing and efficient drug delivery.

Sensors ensure consistent airflow rates by monitoring airflow dynamics and facilitating the programming of drug delivery systems, enhancing the effectiveness of aerosolised medications in treating various conditions including asthma and cystic fibrosis.

Miniature airflow sensors integrate into a wide range of drug delivery systems, from nebulisers and inhalers through to increasing numbers of wearable, home-based remedies. In the following sections, we’ll explore current and prospective future airflow sensor medical applications, shining a light on their incredible versatility and treatment impacts.

Next-generation personalised medical drug delivery

In recent years, there’s been a surge in homecare products offered by the medical and pharmaceutical industries. The adoption of such products is steadily increasing too, a trend largely attributable to high hospital occupancy rates, lifestyle-related ailments, and the consequent shift to home-based treatments.

This transition aims to alleviate strain on healthcare facilities while offering patients greater convenience and comfort, and miniature flow sensors are paramount to the enhanced control of drug delivery to patients, whether by medical professionals or, increasingly, by the patient’s own hand.

Telemedicine and wearable devices

With telemedicine and remote patient monitoring on the up, miniature airflow sensors are playing a big part in a breadth of wearable medical device applications designed for home use.

The market for portable medical devices was valued at around $62.2 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow by 9.8% between 2024 and 2032 — a clear sign of trajectory when it comes to personalised drug delivery.

Integrating miniature airflow sensors into wearable drug delivery systems empowers patients to actively participate in managing their health conditions and facilitates early intervention when abnormalities are detected.

Smart inhalers

Smart inhalers’ are now a familiar, effective technology in the medical space, allowing patients with conditions such as asthma and COPD to effectively control their dosage with the assistance of fine-tuned flow sensors. Prior to their development, one study estimated that patient mistakes during inhaler drug intake resulted in an average of only 7% to 40% of drugs being delivered to the lungs.

However, there are still challenges such as high-viscosity medications and those requiring higher dosage than such inhalers facilitate. This is where we turn to a major innovation in the space — and one that Flusso is proud to be involved in: large-volume autoinjectors.

Large-volume autoinjectors

Self-injection devices are a key example of novel, wearable medical devices that give patients autonomy over their treatment regimen and reduce their need for frequent visits to (or by) healthcare providers.

Large-volume autoinjectors are an advanced, precise technology for home healthcare, utilising pneumatic systems that leverage pressure to accurately measure the amount of medication a patient is administering to themselves. Airflow sensors ensure precise dosing, safety, and efficacy by monitoring airflow; crucial for accurate injection in medical large-volume autoinjectors.

These autoinjectors are pre-programmed per patient medication needs, and often handheld, offering swift, subcutaneous drug administration. They’re designed to deliver volumes ranging from 10-20 ml and above at scheduled intervals.

Research on large-volume autoinjectors abound, and continues to emerge, with one article citing the potential for such technology to offer new dosing regimens for drugs already injected subcutaneously and to expand subcutaneous injections to new fields such as oncology.

MEMS sensor technology — which Flusso is helping to evolve and maximise the potential of — offers superior accuracy for injections and typically at a lower cost, making it more sustainable for patients to utilise such technology at home.

It’s worth noting, also, the benefits of using an airflow sensor over a liquid flow sensor for this application. An airflow sensor such as Flusso’s operates without direct contact with the drug, ensuring the medication — and its delivery system — are sterile and of perfect integrity. This is crucial for maintaining pharmaceutical standards and patient safety.

In the unlikely event that a manufacturer still opts for a liquid flow sensor for this application, the sensor would have to be disposed of after each use, due to the necessity of maintaining sterility and ensuring the drug product’s integrity throughout its journey from the bag to the patient. Additionally, integrating liquid flow sensors into the disposable liquid flow path can be challenging, as any contact with the fluid in sterile drug systems must be strictly avoided, further complicating the process and increasing operating costs for the end user.

Flusso’s miniature gas flow sensor offers a neat, portable solution to these two prominent challenges in the liquid flow sensor space, as well as excellence at low and zero flow rates to increase stability and performance during periods of inactivity.

Conclusions on a new era for medical innovation

Airflow sensors within the medical industry have the potential to herald a new era of precision, efficiency, and patient-centred care, from the environmental monitoring of wards to the management of respiratory conditions, and from wearable devices to increasingly prevalent large-volume autoinjectors.

Healthcare and medication are extraordinarily multifaceted disciplines, with each patient requiring a different approach and treatment than the next, even within similar illnesses and conditions. As such, airflow sensors in medical products have the means of providing live, accurate data to individual devices or overarching medical systems, not only allowing for more precise dosing but also empowering patients to actively participate in managing their health conditions.

The evolving role of airflow sensors is helping to punctuate this shift towards personalised medicine, combining technological advancement and compassionate healthcare to shape a brighter future for medical practice.

Get in touch with a member of our team to learn more about what the future of airflow sensors holds — and how your business can benefit.