Design space: Inhaler for weak breathers Product: Starhaler asthma inhaler for Sun Pharma Advanced Research Design: Cambridge Consultants Territory: India Some asthma sufferers do not always receive therapeutic doses when they breathe in on their inhaler because they fail to inhale deeply enough. Each dose of the inhaled drug is so small that it has to be blended with a carrier, typically lactose. The action of a strong inhalation dislodges the drug from the lactose particles, so that it can travel to its destination deep in the lung. But if the patient inhales weakly, the drug remains on the lactose particles, which are too big to reach the destination. Indian pharmaceutical company Sun Pharma Advanced Research wanted an inhaler that delivered the right dose regardless of the strength of the patient's intake of breath. Cambridge Consultants, the UK design consultancy, designed the Starhaler's internal structure to include an airway between the dose and the mouthpiece that narrows. This means the drug is dislodged from the carrier as the blend ricochets against the passage's walls, even if the patient inhales weakly. Starhaler went on sale in India in April, with Europe and the US to follow