IT'S an innovative new treatment that could protect the most vulnerable asthma sufferers from life-threatening attacks.

Doctors in Southampton are trialling a pioneering air-cleaning device that could help patients with the most severe asthma while they sleep.

The Temperature Controlled Laminar Airflow (TLA) machine, which works by the bedside, filters out allergy particles, which can trigger attacks when inhaled by sufferers.

By removing the potentially life-threatening particles from the air at night, the patient's lungs and airways can “rest” in clean air without the worry of a sudden and unexpected attack.

It is hoped that this machine will succeed where so many others in the past have failed and experts in Southampton, where almost 30,000 suffer from the condition, are now looking for recruits to take part in the ground-breaking study.

It is believed this machine could help around 10 per cent of the 5.4 million people in the UK with asthma, who have the most severe form, which leaves them unable to control their symptoms, resulting in frequent attacks - exacerbations - despite taking multiple high-strength medicines.

Professor Peter Howarth, a specialist in asthma and allergy at the hospital, who worked on the study, said: “While the majority of asthmatics are able to control their symptoms with medication, around one in ten regularly experience life-threatening symptoms and attacks for which currently treatments are insufficient.

“There is a desperate need for new and innovative treatment options for patients who suffer from severe asthma and this is an extremely exciting device which offers the hope of real progress for this vulnerable patient group.”

The particles which are removed from the air by the devices tend to increase at night because body heat and movement carry them from the bedding area to the breathing zone.

It is believed this machine could help around 10 per cent of the 5.4 million people in the UK with asthma, who have the most severe form, which leaves them unable to control their symptoms, resulting in frequent attacks - exacerbations - despite taking multiple high-strength medicines.

The £1.2m study, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment Programme, will involve 222 adults with half given a TLA device that is working and the other half given an inactive version.

Earlier studies showed the TLA device can reduce exposure to potential allergens by a further 99 per cent when compared to the best in class air cleaner - but experts now want to see if it can reduce asthma attacks and asthma symptoms such as coughing and wheezing.

Prof Howarth, who is based at the NIHR Southampton Respiratory Biomedical Research Unit, added: “With such a significant reduction in exposure to allergens, we believe that targeting this equipment specifically to the breathing zone of a patient may succeed in an area where so many other measures, including air filters, have failed.

“By allowing the lungs and airways to 'rest' in clean air overnight, we expect to see a reduction in symptoms which, in turn, will cut the risk of attacks and vastly improve quality of life for these patients as a result.”

The trial, known as the LASER study, is being carried out at Southampton General and the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, with further sites in Leicester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Bradford also recruiting participants.

Anyone interested in finding out more about the study in Southampton and how to participate can contact the research team by texting LASER and their name to 62277 (texts are free).