Cystic Fibrosis Remote monitoring System to Support Resource-Limited Communities

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Twenty percent of the U S population resides in rural communities In rural areas residents need to travel greater distances to access specialty services of the healthcare system Typically healthcare facilities in these rural areas are small and provide limited services Often due to geographic distance extreme weather conditions environmental and climatic barriers lack of public transportation and challenging roads rural residents may be limited or prohibited from accessing specialty health care services In this phase I proposal Koronis Biomedical Technologies KBT proposes a system to overcome some of these barriers by monitoring cystic fibrosis CF patients at home Currently the standard of care for reoccurring CF respiratory exacerbations includes coming to a specialized CF clinic or the hospital for pulmonary function evaluation when symptoms occur Pulmonary function tests help clinicians know when lung function has declined However clinicians currently do not monitor lung function at home nor do clinicians have any insight on therapy adherence There are currently cystic fibrosis centers in the U S accredited by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation with only five in the entire states of Minnesota North South Dakota Montana and Wyoming In many cases patients travel a long distance to reach these specialized CF centers The proposed system creates an innovative home system that connects patients in rural areas with clinicians and provides a feedback loop between therapy and diagnostic monitoring The phase I proposal will develop a web application that will allow secure remote access to pulmonary function data and therapy adherence This system will provide a means of early detection of pulmonary exacerbation and reducing the number of costly and stressful hospitalizations and clinic visits PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE Cystic fibrosis CF is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about children and adults in the United States It affects the secretory glands that produce mucus and sweat CF patientsandapos mucus becomes thick and sticky causing build ups in the lungs Uncleared mucus is strongly correlated with episodes of acute illness and progressive often sharp declines in pulmonary function Retained secretions promote chronic inflammation and infection If unmanaged mucus plugging lung damage and respiratory failure may ensue The proposed system to create an innovative home monitoring system that connects patients with clinicians and provides a feedback loop between HFFC therapy and diagnostic monitoring that would have an immediate impact on patients and clinicians