Portable spirometer lets you track lung activity + strength, for people recovering from breathing issues

Designed to help measure lung activity and strength while on the go, the Airpen is a small handheld pocketable spirometer that tracks how hard you can inhale/exhale. Working pretty much the way a breathalyzer does, the Airpen uses a small module with a fan inside it, which rotates when you breathe in or out. The device calculates the fan’s RPM to basically gauge how strong your lungs are. Working alongside a smartphone app that collects and creates a dashboard of your lung activity data, the Airpen hopes to help rehabilitate people with reduced lung function.

It’s a successor to the Incentive Spirometer, a relatively large device that’s used to help rehabilitate lungs after illness or surgery, keeping them flexible and free of fluid. The Airpen simply condenses it into a small device that can fit into your pocket, effectively allowing people to perform lung activity tests wherever they may be.

The Airpen is a winner of the Red Dot Design Concept Award for the year 2021.

Designers: Mitul Lad, Pietro Russomanno & Stefania Pizzichi.

Sarang Sheth

Sarang is the co-editor in chief of Yanko Design. He is a former industrial designer at a Bangalore-based multidisciplinary design studio, working in areas including appliances, FMCG, packaging, technology, luxury, etc. Sarang has written about design and technology for over a decade and has been a jury member on international design awards. He occasionally works on tech concepts featured on Forbes, The Verge, Hypebeast, Digital Trends, SlashGear, Tom's Guide, LetsGoDigital, and Unbox Therapy. Sarang graduated from MIT Institute of Design, Pune.

See Full Bio