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Asthma monitoring on the Web
August 25, 2008Micro system lets physicians monitor, control asthma remotely
An inexpensive web-enabled device for measuring lung function in patients with asthma and other disorders is being developed by researchers at Texas Instruments, in Bangalore, India, and co-workers. Writing in the International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, the team explains how the devise could allow physicians to monitor their patients remotely and quickly instigate medical attention in an emergency.
Spirometers are commonly used to measure lung capacity and the response of breathing during therapy. However, the widespread application of spirometers is limited in the developing world and in remote regions because of the high instrument cost of the instrument and a lack of specialist healthcare workers trained in its use.
Texas Instruments researcher N.C.S. Ramachandran is an expert in high-speed and low-power digital design and is working with professor of electrical engineering Vivek Agarwal of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India, on the development of an inexpensive and easy to operate spirometer that can be quickly hooked up to an internet connection through built-in web and data encryption software.
Simply monitoring cough and wheezing in asthma sufferers does not always provide an accurate assessment of the severity of their symptoms. Breathing tests carried out using a spirometer, on the other hand, are much more accurate and can provide a clear indication of whether or not medication is being effective.
The team has developed the device as a low-cost, portable spirometer built around a pressure sensor for detecting airflow. The sensor is fabricated using technology similar to that for manufacturing computer chips and is based on microelectromechanical system (MEMS). The MEMS spirometer can measures the flow and volume of air moving in and out of the patient's lungs.
The use of mass production techniques for making the MEMS sensor, means the device can be inexpensive (a few dollars per unit), small, and so portable. Embedding of the necessary electronics and software to allow it to connect to a computer and the Web make it ideal for remote monitoring by a patient's healthcare worker. "Not only can the remotely located patient consult a specialist," the researchers say, "the specialist too can instruct the patient for specific test procedures and treatment."
Inderscience Publishers
Texas Instruments researcher N.C.S. Ramachandran is an expert in high-speed and low-power digital design and is working with professor of electrical engineering Vivek Agarwal of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India, on the development of an inexpensive and easy to operate spirometer that can be quickly hooked up to an internet connection through built-in web and data encryption software.
Simply monitoring cough and wheezing in asthma sufferers does not always provide an accurate assessment of the severity of their symptoms. Breathing tests carried out using a spirometer, on the other hand, are much more accurate and can provide a clear indication of whether or not medication is being effective.
The team has developed the device as a low-cost, portable spirometer built around a pressure sensor for detecting airflow. The sensor is fabricated using technology similar to that for manufacturing computer chips and is based on microelectromechanical system (MEMS). The MEMS spirometer can measures the flow and volume of air moving in and out of the patient's lungs.
The use of mass production techniques for making the MEMS sensor, means the device can be inexpensive (a few dollars per unit), small, and so portable. Embedding of the necessary electronics and software to allow it to connect to a computer and the Web make it ideal for remote monitoring by a patient's healthcare worker. "Not only can the remotely located patient consult a specialist," the researchers say, "the specialist too can instruct the patient for specific test procedures and treatment."
Inderscience Publishers
Asthma Current Events and Asthma News RSSFall babies: Born to wheeze?
It is said that timing is everything, and that certainly appears to be true for autumn infants. Children who are born four months before the height of cold and flu season have a greater risk of developing childhood asthma than children born at any other time of year, according to new research.
Hospital visits for respiratory illnesses spiked during Southern California wildfires
Raging wildfires that engulfed Southern California earlier this decade not only destroyed neighborhoods laying in their path, they also caused significant health problems for many who lived outside the fires' reach.
The miseries of allergies just may help prevent some cancers, study finds
There may be a silver -- and healthy -- lining to the miserable cloud of allergy symptoms: Sneezing, coughing, tearing and itching just may help prevent cancer -- particularly colon, skin, bladder, mouth, throat, uterus and cervix, lung and gastrointestinal tract cancer, according to a new Cornell study.
Is ineffective esophageal motility associated with gastropharyngeal reflux disease?
IEM is associated with an increased acid clearance times in the distal esophagus. Gastropharyngeal reflux causes supraesophageal manifestations such as globus, chronic cough, hoarseness, asthma, chronic sinusitis, or other otorhinolaryngologic diseases.
Flu vaccination rates lag for at-risk adolescents
Influenza vaccination rates for adolescents who suffer from asthma and other illnesses are still far too low, according to a recent study.
Tweens and teens double use of diabetes drugs
America's tweens and teens more than doubled their use of type 2 diabetes medications between 2002 and 2005, with girls between 10 and 14 years of age showing a 166 percent increase. One likely cause: Obesity, which is closely associated with type 2 diabetes.
Researchers Apply Systems Biology and Glycomics to Study Human Inflammatory Diseases
An innovative systems biology approach to understanding the carbohydrate structures in cells is leading to new ways to understand how inflammatory illnesses and cardiovascular disease develop in humans. The work was described in two recent publications by University at Buffalo chemical engineers.
NASA-enhanced dust storm predictions to aid health community
NASA satellite data can improve forecasts of dust storms in the American Southwest in ways that can benefit public health managers. Scientists announced the finding as a five-year NASA-funded project nears its conclusion.
In mice, anxiety is linked to immune system
In the first study ever to genetically link the immune system to normal behavior, scientists at Rockefeller and Columbia universities show that mast cells, known as the pharmacologic bombshells of the immune system, directly influence how mice respond to stressful situations.
Green neighborhoods may reduce childhood obesity
Childhood obesity can lead to type 2 diabetes, asthma, hypertension, sleep apnea and emotional distress. Obese children and youth are likely to be obese as adults, experience more cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and stroke and incur higher healthcare costs.
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