Efforts to control asthma, allergies and hayfever could be about to change, with the introduction of new technology in New Zealand.
It will use artificial intelligence to measure allergens in real time, sending alerts to Kiwis before their conditions flare up.
At first glance, it's just a silver box. But for many asthmatics it's life changing.
That's because it's a pollen sensor, and paired with an app, will warn people the environment they're in could be harmful.
"If you know what you're allergic to, you can have an alert telling you, 'Hey you better take your Antihistamine, maybe shut your window'," Brent Sorensen, RespiTrak Product Manager, told Newshub.
Asthma New Zealand said it's a complete game-changer.
"It will save lives - without a doubt," Katheren Leitner, Asthma NZ CEO told Newshub.
"Sixty percent of asthma is related to an allergic reaction - pollen being a significant one.
"The ability to warn somebody could make all the difference - I think a number of people are really shocked that you can die from asthma.
"We have the second highest rate of death for under 35-year-olds in the developed world and we've had that for over 20 years."
Currently, MetService issues pollen forecasts based on seasonal changes and estimates.
But these new sensors are the first of their kind in Australasia. They can detect not only pollen but mould and other airborne allergens, including specific types in real-time.
"It's taking a reading every minute. It's uploaded to an intelligence engine, which every hour is doing a calculation and sending data directly to the user," Sorensen said.
The sensors get installed on top of buildings, like universities or hospitals. They each have a 30-kilometre radius for hourly updates and a 100-kilometre radius for daily averages.
Amy Chan is a senior research fellow at the University of Auckland and told Newshub the data generated from the sensors will be invaluable for academics.
"We can start to look at the relationships between the changes in pollen, changes in weather, and people's asthma attacks and asthma control, and predict things like hospitalisation before it happens," Chan told Newshub.
"This is really world-leading in terms of the technology - I think we're really lucky to have this in New Zealand."
