Overview
The burden of chronic lung disease in the developing world is both staggering and growing as a result of increased air pollution, tobacco use and workplace exposures. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects 210 million people globally and was the fourth leading cause of death worldwide in 2004. Widely expected to become the third leading cause of death in a matter of a few years, COPD is a disabling combination of emphysema (destruction of lung’s elastic recoil) and chronic bronchitis that can be managed with inhaled medications if caught early; however, even rudimentary screening procedures and clinical management of symptoms has not been employed in the world’s poorest regions. Part of the problem arises with the cost of equipment and lack of personnel necessary to measure lung function reliably via spirometry.
Project Description
Chronic respiratory disease in the developing world is both increasingly prevalent and difficult to manage as a result of shortages of medications, accurate equipment and qualified medical personnel. development of a low-cost mobile phone based spirometer device named “TeleSpiro” specifically designed for resource limiting setting. Telespiro is a open tube differential pressure sensing spirometer that can detect ambient humidity and pressure at a low price point. The key contributions of this design, calibration and signal processing is repeat-use sterility, low cost of development, no requirement for independent power source, operation independent of computer hardware via use of new Android USB host mode capabilities, respiratory tube design and integration with an electronic health record system. The tube and mouthpiece were designed via turbulent CFD and international specifications to optimize collection of key pulmonary function tests (FEV1/FVC). PIC Microcontroller and Android software applications are being implemented on the collected signal from the differential pressure sensor and filtered to obtain accurate and precise pulmonary function tests. Android software will be built into the OpenMRS system as a way of transmitting data and also provided user feedback thus acting like a technician.
Key features
Novel Integrated Design
No power source needed when plugged into phone
Sterilizable for repeat use
User Feedback
European Respiratory Society and American Thoracic Society standards compliance
Designed by a physician in training with clinical experience
