Although our technology shows great promise, there are some negative consequences:
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If there is a false reading by the detector, it could cause the child to experience unnecessary stress, hyperventilate, and thus cause an attack to occur. A false reading could also cause the parents to take unnecessary actions to ensure the child’s safety.
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We also believe our ASMS system could cause conflict between school nurses and doctors. Some doctors may feel that nurses are not experienced enough to correctly download and interpret data from the ASMS and then administer medication.
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Near the end of our project, we became aware of another serious consequence. In the January 20th edition of many national papers including Th
e New York Times (read article) and USA Today, there was a report on the
federal government’s efforts to view millions of Google searches. The
articles explained that databases contain names, medical profiles and
Social Security information. The article made us really stop and
consider who should have access to the databases our ASMS would be
creating and transmitting.
In spite of some negative consequences, the positive consequences far outweigh the negative:
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The ASMS could store the data on the levels of NO over long periods of time which will help professionals determine the correct dosage of medication that should be administered. The data could also be analyzed to determine what triggers an asthma attack in various children.
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The ASMS will significantly reduce the number of hospitalizations and save the lives of many children suffering from asthma. One of the places we believe the ASMS will be most beneficial to children is in school settings. Two of the most dangerous places for children with asthma are the classroom and the playground. Schools are full of allergens that trigger asthma, inclu
ding
a copious amount of dust and pollen, making asthmatic children very
susceptible to a severe attack. Further endangering the child’s life
is the fact that many states prohibit children from carrying their
asthma medication while in school. Many deaths occur when the
child’s medication is unavailable and the teacher is unaware of an
imminent attack. If children were wearing the ASMS, their teacher
and nurse could be alerted when their NO levels increase, and they
could get life saving medication to prevent a severe attack.
The lives of these children were saved using the ASMS!
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