Stockport entrepreneur hopes to save lives with new invention

Stockport-based entrepreneur Ali Moiyed has created a device he believes could save thousands of lives.

Ali is the inventor of the Aerobit, a 3.2cm elasticated jacket that turns inhalers into smart devices by connecting to an app, reminding patients to take their medication and keeping track of doses.

Having battled asthma most of his life, Ali decided to do something because his daughter has the condition.

Although asthma kills 250k people worldwide every year, Ali said 75% of the deaths are avoidable. The problem, he explained, is not with the treatment but with ensuring patients take their medication.

He said: “When my daughter Ruqaiyya suffered an asthma attack my wife and I realised that we didn’t know 100% whether she’d taken her medication, the dose she’d taken or the precise time she’d had it. We were worried if we gave it again she could overdose.

“As responsible parents we felt guilty but when we did our research we found that most parents had a similar experience. People live busy lives and you can’t watch your children 24/7, especially when they’re at school.”

He continued: “The vital thing for patients like Ruqaiyya is that they take right dosage of medication at the right time. That’s where the Aerobit device comes in.

“The smart bit is the Aerobit device uses patented sensor-based technology to detect when you’ve taken your meds and sends a signal to the mobile app. The important bit is it doesn’t rely on the patient to feed in information so it’s ideal for elderly or very young asthmatics who might forget to take their medication on time.”

Speaking further, he said the device will launch in early 2017 and has already attracted interest from pharmaceutical companies, inhaler manufacturers, health insurance providers and hospitals.

A patent application for the invention has now submitted.

Outside his work on Aerobit, Ali is the founder of Manchester-based fintech firm AccessPay.