Niox Grow is a discreet asthma management system - a personal management station, an air cleaner/family interface, an online community and a mobile app - for adolescents. The station is used to detect the markers of allergic asthma inflammation in exhaled breath. The complete proposal aims to share management information on multiple platforms to decrease the intrusive behavior of the family members and encourage the adolescents to manage their condition.

Allergic asthma is a chronic disease and as long as it is properly managed, patients can have a normal life. However, the biggest challenge still lies in the proper management of this condition, which generally starts in early ages of one's life such as adolescence. Asthma in adolescence is common: up to one in 7 adolescents have wheezing some of the time. It may start during the teenage years, or it may continue from a younger age. Because the teenage years are times of great changes for young people, they need special care and understanding if they have an ongoing health problem such as asthma.

Today’s asthma management equipment is only available for clinical use and requires supervision. Niox Grow allows adolescents to understand and manage their condition in the comfort of their living spaces. It also allows the family members to follow the condition of their child without being intrusive by distributing the information on multiple platforms.

During the project, I have been interviewing the local asthma support group and also an asthma nurse. They pointed out different potential touch points and opportunities. Such a variety was overwhelming during the first weeks, however it led me to choose a system solution instead of a single product, so I could tackle with the problem on different levels.

The design improves patients life by enabling them to take control of their daily management. To do so: (1)The medical feedback is simplified and multi-layered. (2)Digital and physical products extend the management into different settings (home, school, room) during the day. (3)Depending on your personal management, air cleaner follows your daily condition and creates a comfortable living environment. (4)Also via air cleaner's touch surface, family members have the chance to stay in the loop without questioning their children. (5)Community involvement is encouraged via online profile. (6)Incentives like medicine discounts, allergen mapping and direct medical counseling service are given to adolescents for sustainable management. (7)Mobile platform is always with you. It keeps track of and also acknowledges the user about closest pharmacies if necessary.