Asthma UK for Applied Research brings together leading researchers, clinicians, people with asthma, education, and implementation specialists from across the UK. Their actions focus on developing, testing, and implementing interventions that have the potential to achieve reductions in asthma morbidity and mortality.

Challenge

Despite the wide range of asthma treatment methods that are currently available in Great Britain, both the percentage of patients admitted to hospital and asthma mortality rates are not changing. This may be shocking, especially since modern therapies are highly effective — if they are used regularly. Sadly, research shows that as much as 50% of asthmatics are not using their medication in accordance with doctors’ recommendations at least part of the time.¹ Recognising the scale of the problem, researchers from the AUKCAR are evaluating methods to improve patient engagement in their therapy while simultaneously reducing the level of effort required for proper self-care. Patients typically want a system that can automatically register their asthma control and identify the circumstances that might have triggered the attack. Doctors, on the other hand, look for an automatised database with information about patient condition, that can be accessed remotely and whenever needed. They want to have more flexible consultations to optimize the care service to patients. (Hui, 2021)

Read more about the Project A4A Connected+

Solution

To address this problem A4A+ at AUKCAR decided to partner with FindAir, Polar, Smart Peakflow and Tactuum to create a novel connected system to support people living with asthma. As a part of a collaboration with the “A4A+” project, FindAir provided smart inhalers, mobile applications, and access to FindAir API. These components allowed for the collection of real-time data on the use of preventer and reliever inhalers, to support patient therapy. The final task in the project was the creation and testing of a system that enables people with asthma to share information about their asthma with their chosen doctor. The A4A+ was tested with both patients and doctors with a focus on people’s trust for this type of system. The research results will be published in the next few months.

1. Global Initiative for Asthma. Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention, 2019. Available from: www.ginasthma.org p. 70