Contact: Chriss Swaney
412-268-5776

For immediate release:
May 9, 2002

Carnegie Mellon Students Design A Pioneering Teaching Tool to Educate Children about Asthma

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University Mechanical Engineering students, in cooperation with the American Respiratory Alliance, will showcase a new teaching tool designed to simulate a variety of asthma symptoms, including labored breathing and constriction of the air passage. More than 14 million people were diagnosed with asthma last year, and 5,500 deaths were attributed to asthma in 1999, according to the National Institutes of Health. Michael Stow, a Carnegie Mellon senior, will conduct the site demonstrations of the artificial lung. The demonstration is part of a larger event to create awareness for individuals suffering from asthma.

WHEN: 1 - 5 p.m., Saturday, May 11, 2002.

WHERE: The "Tent" at Station Square, Pittsburgh, Pa.