A local start-up company was just awarded 220 thousand dollars to help company leaders take the product to market on a national level.

JettStream makes a special device that allows asthma patients to get rid of a tough to use nebulizer mask.

Co-founder Matt Smith of Bend says the idea was born out of a huge need...

"What's the problem?- so the problem is treating children who have asthma - children wearing a mask- children don't like to put anything on their face...require nebulizer treatments..."

The award from the Southern Oregon Angel Investors Conference is a big boost- but they still need about 250 thousand dollars to properly launch the product. Smith says the invention could also help reduce a large number of emergency room visits from asthma patients who find it difficult to manage their asthma. 

Company co-founder Sarah Cota has a son, Jett,  with asthma.  She says before she started using the "Jett Pak" type invention it was tough to manager her son's asthma, especially when he was 2 or 3.  She says one year she went to the Emergency Room 18 times.  Smith says this could help cut down on what people in the industry refer to as "frequent flyers", that's people who visit the emergency room on a very regular basis.