New technology to track health status may allow people facing cystic fibrosis a different way of treatment

As the parents of a teenager with Cystic Fibrosis, David and Kirsty Hill know what managing their younger son’s disease involves, with regiments of medications and nebulizers, the yearly trips to the hospital, the frequent interruptions to school and work, the dread and worry each time George developed a cough. With many nights spent by their son's side, worrying about his state and the damage that this progressive genetic disease does to the lungs and digestive system, they began to think, how could they do more?

In his day-to-day work life, David was using his technical skills to benefit customers, who needed to improve their ability to manage their problems. Then he wondered, could he channel those abilities and tap the expertise of his colleagues to use technology to improve the quality of life for George and other people with cystic fibrosis?

This is how Project Breathe came to life, an exciting collaboration between Magic Bullet, the CF Trust, Papworth Hospital, the University of Cambridge and Microsoft, which seeks to give patients greater control over their health, reduce the need for time-consuming and risky hospital visits, and could even prolong life. This solution allows people to monitor their health at home with devices that measure key indicators such as lung function, blood oxygen levels, and activity. This data is then stored in the a "cloud" and can be accessed by doctors, to look for trends of the disease and determine when patients are becoming unwell.

By tracking their own data, patients can intervene earlier and potentially head off serious, lung-damaging infections.

Multiple studies have been conducted in the practicability and effectiveness of this solution, which promises to revolutionize cystic fibrosis care, by changing the paradigm of mandatory trips to the hospital. While proving that remote monitoring of this condition is safe and effective but also capable of anticipating the beginning of relapse in the patients' condition, this solution was proven to identify a decline in a patient’s condition an average of 11 days earlier than antibiotics would typically be started.

Adapted from https://news.microsoft.com/innovation-stories/project-breathe/
Learn more about the Project Breathe and the solution here https://magicbullet.co.uk/

DISCLAIMER: This story was written by someone who is not the author of the solution, therefore please be advised that, although it was written with the utmost respect for the innovation and the innovator, there can be some incorrect statements. If you find any errors please contact the patient Innovation team via info@patient-innovation.com or at carolina.piedade@patient-innovation.com directly.

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