Laura Ojanperä’s doctoral dissertation shows that a child’s breathing pattern and the choice of spacer device have a significant impact on how effectively inhaled asthma medication reaches the lungs. The findings support more individualized selection of inhaler devices and medications in pediatric asthma care.
Laura Ojanperä will defend her doctoral dissertation, Size is not all that matters: In vitro drug delivery of children’s inhaled asthma therapies via spacers, at Tampere University on 25 September 2026.
The dissertation examines the delivery of inhaled asthma medications in young children and highlights the importance of both breathing technique and spacer selection in maximizing treatment effectiveness. The results may help optimize asthma treatment for children and support evidence-based clinical decision-making.
The public examination will take place at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology of Tampere University. The opponent will be Professor Håvard Ove Skjerven from the University of Oslo, and the custos will be Docent Péter Csonka.