The first results of the myAirCoach project were presented in the recent congress of the International Society for Aerosols in Medicine. Dr. Konstantinos Votis described the current state-of-the-art technologies in the field of mobile health technologies and positioned the goals of myAirCoach in this framework and towards the optimized management of asthma. 

 The digital patient: - the future of mobile health for respiratory patients

Dr. Votis Konstantinos¹, Dimitrios Kikidis¹, Dr. Dimitrios Tzovaras¹, Dr. Omar S. Usmani²

¹Information Technologies Institute, 6th km Charilaou-Thermi Road, Thessaloniki, GR-57001, Greece,

²Imperial College London & Royal Brompton Hospital,Faculty of Medicine, National Heart & Lung Institute, London SW3 6LY, UK

Abstract

The wave of digital health is continuously growing and promises to transform the experience of patients. Respiratory medicine is in the center of these developments, as it has the potential of being benefited by all the components of the digital patient experience. Firstly, mobile health technologies will allow the quantitative measurement of clinical, behavioral and environmental factors in the real life environment, allowing the accurate monitoring of the progression and treatment of respiratory diseases. Furthermore, the creation of strong communication links between patients, their families and the healthcare personnel promises to minimize the dangers connected to exacerbations and also elevate the related social barriers. Finally, the digital patient profile is expected to allow the efficient and safe self-management of respiratory diseases by patients, using the help of smart automated systems and under the supervision of healthcare professionals. The current presentation describes an EU Horizon2020 project; myAirCoach and its innovative vision for asthma treatment. It will focus on the above three pillars of the digital patient experience, present a technical review of the available solutions and devices, and relate this in particular to the foundation of respiratory management: inhaled drug delivery. Based on the identified gaps, a methodology approach will be presented for the optimization of respiratory treatment, in particular asthma management, in the digital era.