Respiratory consultant Prof Patrick Mitchell will lead a trial involving 50 asthma patients initially. Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) in
Dublin is set to test out a wearable device and integrated app for patients with severe asthma. The trial is part of a project that has just received funding worth €75,000 from the Government’s Public Service Innovation Fund. TUH respiratory consultant Prof Patrick Mitchell will lead the trial. “Initially, 50 patients attending TUH with a diagnosis of moderate to severe asthma will use a wearable device and a home spirometer (measuring lung function),” he said. “This will allow patients to measure and record their sleep patterns, pulse rate, activity levels and lung function on a weekly and or symptom-prompted basis. The wearable device will link to a digital platform so results can be recorded,” added Mitchell, who is also an associate professor at Trinity College Dublin. People using the device will be able to record outcomes over six months, according to Mitchell. The wearable device will then harvest this information to provide the medical team at TUH with a retrospective set of data to give them insights into how the patient with asthma is progressing. The team hopes that its methods will facilitate the detection of significant changes in asthmatic patients’ conditions, which in the future may allow for early intervention and treatment if needed. Dr Natalie Cole, head of innovation at TUH, pointed out that the tech will enable patients to have a certain amount of input in their condition’s management and care. She hailed the trial as an example of the potential for wearables in health innovation. “Over the last decade, new devices and fitness technology have uncovered a store of useful information that, when applied correctly, has the potential to revolutionise the way we approach healthcare and chronic conditions like asthma.” Cole in 2021 about the importance of research and tech in the healthcare sector.