Massey University student from Waipū takes out James Dyson Award with child-friendly inhaler

Maisie Panoho from Waipū won this year's James Dyson Award with her inhaler Hae Hae. Photo / Supplied

A new inhaler for kids created by a Waipū student could make life easier for children with asthma, after the design won a national award.

Hae Hae, a child-friendly inhaler designed by Maisie Panoho, won this year's James Dyson Award, taking it to the international competition.

As part of her industrial design studies at Massey University in Wellington, Panoho took a closer look at conventional inhalers and trialled ideas before settling on her unique design.

"I developed the inhaler to be ergonomically better for children's hands. That was based on my project research," Panoho said.

She looked at how children's toys were designed and discovered they are often round and have a "bobble look", as Panoho described it.

"That is why I decided to keep the bottom round."

Also, the material she used, silicon, is meant to provide a better grip for kids. The so-called trigger wings on either side of the bottom bulb are making it easier to trigger the device compared with a commonly used inhaler.

Hae Hae can be activated with the extension of the trigger wings, which can be folded down when not in use. Photo / Supplied

The device will also display information such as the battery life, how much medicine is available, when and how long to shake the inhaler, and a reward system for taking medicine.

Panoho started off her design development with a cardboard-and-polystyrene model and eventually digitalised it with CAD (computer aided design), which allowed further alterations.

"A big thanks to my partner who has allowed me to turn our table into my modelling station."

The finalised design has been 3D-printed.

"I've lived with family members and I have friends that suffer from asthma for as long as I can remember," Panoho said.

"From watching them and listening to them complain about certain aspects of it, I knew by my second year [at university] that I want to do this for my final-year project.

"It was my project research that made me focus on children. It was based on the statistics around children with asthma here in New Zealand."

One in seven children takes asthma medication. Forty-seven per cent of hospital admissions from asthma are children, with more than 586,000 school days missed every year.

"This device has a game-changing design that could save lives," said Sir Ray Avery, from the James Dyson Award judges panel.

Panoho worked closely with a Wellington family to refine her inhaler design. Photo / Supplied

"New Zealand has the highest rate of asthma in the developed world, and this could really help children be more engaged with taking their medicine.

"Maisie has thought about this issue, realised there was nothing on the market and designed a clever solution that has been executed well.

"It's a clinical problem that has a worldwide application and could easily be produced and rolled out globally to benefit children everywhere."

Panoho won $3900 for her design and will move on to the international stage along with two runners-up from New Zealand.

The top 20 will be announced on October 13 and the international winners named on November 17.