My name is Isabel. I’m Portuguese and an ex-smoker. I quit smoking in April 2006 when I was diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, a progressive respiratory disease which makes breathing difficult.

I was lucky enough to have been diagnosed without delay. My COPD is under control and I have a full, rewarding life.

But I’m sure that without several categories of medical devices, my life would be completely different: breathless, dependent, and depressed without proper diagnostics and treatment.

As a COPD patient, monitoring of my condition is mandatory at least twice a year. Sophisticated x-ray, CT-scan and spirometry machines are needed to evaluate the disease progression.

In addition, inhalers help to deliver medicines to my lungs and humble syringes are needed to take blood in order to evaluate the level of oxygen in my body.

Medical devices are always there for me, and each and every one of them is important for my wellbeing. They provide valuable and accurate information about my health and my condition to my doctor and to me. They help to calibrate my treatment and they make my life safer and predictable.