Wireless mobile monitoring in pediatric asthma

Here's a great story of wireless mobile monitoring technology improving the management of pediatric asthma:

Qualcomm and Rady Children’s Hospital Collaborate on 3G-enabled Monitoring Kit to Help Prevent Serious Asthmatic Attacks in Children

Qualcomm Incorporated, through its Qualcomm Wireless Reach™ initiative, Qualcomm Life, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, and Rady Children’s Hospital, the primary pediatric health provider serving San Diego, Imperial and southern Riverside counties, today announced their collaboration on a 3G-enabled kit for monitoring the activities of asthmatic children. The project features Asthmapolis and Zephyr technologies in order to help reduce costs and improve outcomes and seeks to determine whether asthma-related therapy can be personalized based on a patient’s physiology, reducing serious asthmatic attacks, emergency room visits, hospitalization and associated costs.

Asthma is one of the most common chronic disorders in childhood, affecting an estimated 7.1 million children under 18 years of age.[1] It is the third leading cause of hospitalization among children under 15. The annual direct health care cost of asthma is approximately $50.1 billion. Asthma is also one of the leading causes of school absenteeism.

Mobile app monitors lung function for asthma or COPD

Can the microphone on your smartphone measure your lung function?

A new tool from researchers at the University of Washington, UW Medicine and Seattle Children’s hospital lets people monitor their lung function at home or on the go simply by blowing into their smartphones. SpiroSmart is a research app to let people test their lung function using only a smartphone. You can read more about this here.

iSonea launches the AsthmaSense mobile app

The company iSonea has launched their AsthmaSense mobile app. Here is a press release that describes more:

Comprehensive and Easy-to-use Asthma Management App provides active reminders and asthma attack risk alerts

SEVERNA PARK, Md., June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical technology company, iSonea Ltd. (ASX: ISN; OTCQX: ISOAY) today announced the launch of a new asthma management smartphone app, AsthmaSense™, available for iPhone, iPad and Android users. AsthmaSense is the most comprehensive, yet easy-to-use smartphone app designed specifically to help improve the way people live with and manage asthma.

AsthmaSense is the first app to bring together everything you need to manage asthma more effectively and conveniently. Once you program your asthma action plan, AsthmaSense makes sure you are tracking to your plan with active reminders. The AsthmaSense app allows you to record and track your symptoms, lung function tests, asthma events and medications. It also provides interactive medication and testing reminders. Features include:

• Journal: Easily record peak flow, wheeze, medication use (scheduled, unscheduled and missed medication dosages) and symptoms.
• Alerts: Set the tone and time for medication and testing reminders. Receive alerts when your asthma is "not well controlled" or "poorly controlled" according to medical community guidelines.
• Rescue: Access emergency contact information quickly and easily.
• Manage your data: Review up to two months of medication use. Share your AsthmaSense data with a physician, family member or caregiver.

In the United States alone, 25 million people have asthma, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC also estimates the cost burden in the U.S. alone exceeds $56 billion annually, as poorly controlled asthma is associated with increased emergency room visits, hospitalizations and medical costs. The World Health Organization estimates that there are more than 250,000 deaths globally from poorly controlled asthma every year. The medical community's guidelines, including those from the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), state that regular monitoring of breathing symptoms is necessary to improve medication compliance and successful long-term management of asthma. It is also recommended that all people with asthma have an asthma action plan developed with their doctor to help control their asthma.

iSonea to Develop New Asthma Mobile Health Technology Based on Qualcomm 2net Hub

Severna Park, MD — February 15, 2012 — Medical technology company iSonea Ltd. (ASX: ISN; OTCQX: ISOAY), announced that it will design and market a home and mobile asthma monitoring platform with global telecommunications corporation Qualcomm Life Inc.,™ a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM). The new technology will combine iSonea’s proprietary Acoustic Respiratory Monitoring (ARM)™ devices and mobile health asthma management systems with Qualcomm’s 2net™ platform.