Live at 6 | Syracuse Group Takes Inhaler Bracelet Invention To Competition

By Amber McElrath – Syracuse, N.Y. (CitrusTV) – On April 5 and 6, two Syracuse students will be competing at the Atlantic Coast Conference InVenture Prize Competition. Elizabeth Tarangelo and Kayla Simon are co-founders of In-Spire, a bracelet that functions as an asthma inhaler.

Tarangelo came up with the idea for In-Spire after working in New York City over the summer. As a sufferer of exercise-induced asthma, Tarangelo was inspired.

“I literally had a couple of asthma attacks on the ferry from running and so when that was happening I was just thinking about my product and I was like if I had this then that wouldn’t have happened,” she said.

In-Spire’s purpose is to function as a more convenient asthma inhaler. The bracelet attaches around the wrist, then breaks apart to allow the person wearing it to gain access to their medication. It is less bulky than an asthma inhaler and easier to use for people who struggle obtaining their medicine from typical asthma inhalers.

Another key point of its functionality is the ability of the owner to refill their prescription. In-Spire is reusable and refillable, holding up to ten doses of albuterol, which is an asthma medication.

Simon and Tarangelo believe that In-Spire is going to make a positive impact on people. By making your medicine accessible on your wrist, the co-founders believe that people will start to put their health on the fore-front. This seems to be a new trend recently, with the popularity of devices such as the FitBit.

In-Spire is not just limited to the realm of asthma medication, even though that is where the idea came from. The students are looking into expanding into other realms of the medical industry. Some areas of exploration included inhalable insulin, cold, and flu medications.

Simon also discussed other forms of In-Spire so it is not limited to just a bracelet. The main one she focused on was an In-Spire lanyard, where the medicine would be accessible around the neck.

In the near future, In-Spire is heading towards the ACC InVenture Prize Competition, where one team from each ACC school pitches their invention or idea to a panel of judges. The pitching is similar to the show Shark Tank.

The top ACC team walks away with $15,000. The people’s choice team will win $5,000. Syracuse students who are interested in voting for In-Spire for the people’s choice award, can watch the competition on PBS or stream it online.

Simon and Tarangelo are hoping to use the money from the competition to work on getting a provisional patent on In-Spire. They are already looking towards making the bracelet accessible for commercial use amongst the general population.

Simon says that “one out of every 10 people has asthma and that’s almost double the population of the U.S” so they are looking forward to being able to help so many with their invention.