[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6683\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESmart inhaler to help asthma sufferers breathe easier\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor many patients, managing their asthma can be difficult \u2013 for some symptoms may be hard to control, and attacks may appear unpredictable. Globally, asthma is responsible for around 400\u0026nbsp;000 deaths each year.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDoctors also struggle to unpick what might be triggering attacks and have little idea if their patients are taking their medication properly, if at all.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut a new project that has combined an asthma inhaler with a range of sensors and mobile technology promises to change this.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe MyAirCoach smart inhaler records physiological data from the patient along with gathering information about the environment, such as the temperature and humidity. It even collects information about how the patient is using the device, such as shaking the inhaler before pressing the button to receive a dose of their medicine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis can then be fed back to the patient on their mobile phone to help them understand and better manage their own symptoms, but it can also connect doctors to real-time information on their patients.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027They can be better informed about their condition but also clinicians can have new tools in order to have a detailed and more accurate picture of their patient\u2019s condition outside the clinic,\u0027 said Dr Konstantinos Votis from the Information Technologies Institute at the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas in Thessaloniki, Greece, and deputy co-ordinator of the MyAirCoach project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;There are huge problems because many patients don\u0026#039;t use their medical devices correctly.\u0026#039;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Konstantinos Votis, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, Greece\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMultiple sensors\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile previous commercial \u0027smart\u0027 asthma inhalers on the market linked only to GPS \u2013 to offer location information, the MyAirCoach inhaler uses multiple sensors to give much more detailed information. These include a microphone and accelerometer to record the patient\u0027s inhaling technique, GPS and biomonitoring sensors, which record factors like environmental temperature and air pressure.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe device can also wirelessly communicate with the patient\u0027s smartphone and fitness trackers like FitBit to get more information about what the patient was doing. An app on their phone combines this with data from environmental sensor networks and satellites such as the European Union\u2019s environmental monitoring system \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/article\/keeping-watchful-eye-over-earth_en.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ECopernicus\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA \u0027virtual assistant\u0027 then helps patients access the data on their phones and offers advice on how to manage their disease. The software allows doctors to set rules that will send auto-notifications to individual patients. For example, a doctor can set a rule that dictates if their patient\u0027s blood pressure rises above 120, they will receive a recommendation to take medication.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Votis believes the smart inhaler could also be used to help better evaluate new medicines, or even to train patients to take their medication more effectively.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027There are huge problems because many patients don\u2019t use their medical devices correctly,\u0027 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Votis and his colleagues, who received funding from the EU to start the project in 2015, are now preparing to start evaluating a prototype of their smart inhaler in the autumn. Asthma patients at two sites in the UK and one in the Netherlands will test the device over six months. The researchers are also in discussions about how to commercialise the project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf successful, the information collected by MyAirCoach could also prove vital in helping the medical community gain a better understanding of asthma, what causes it and why it seems to be getting more common. It could, for example, help to make predictions about the disease, such as identifying whether high air pollution in a locality coincides with a spike in asthma attacks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA global epidemic\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027Asthma is increasing around the world \u2013 and no one really knows why,\u0027 said Professor Neil Pearce, an epidemiologist at the UK\u0027s London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He is leading the AsthmaPhenotypes project, which is funded by the EU\u0027s European Research Council and is attempting to unravel the causes of the disease and its increasing prevalence.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERates of asthma vary dramatically around the world - while \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/thorax.bmj.com\/content\/62\/9\/758\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Estudies show up to 30 % of children\u003C\/a\u003E in the UK will experience asthma symptoms in a year, the figure is just 3 % in Albania and Greece, while in parts of rural China and Africa it is just 1 %.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut asthma is becoming more common in these less-affluent countries as the world becomes more Westernised and people move from rural areas to cities, says Prof. Pearce. He speculates that in 10 to 15 years\u0027 time, rates elsewhere in the world will rise to match those found in the UK.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027There\u2019s a major public health problem coming down the train line,\u0027 he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of the AsthmaPhenotypes project, which will assess patients from the UK, New Zealand, Uganda, Brazil and Ecuador, Prof. Pearce hopes to be able to examine and categorise different subtypes of asthma.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOur understanding of asthma has changed over the last 20\u0026nbsp;years. It had been thought that it was an allergic\u0026nbsp;disease, but in fact research has shown that less than half of asthma cases\u0026nbsp;involve allergic responses.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027It\u2019s not completely clear whether the division into allergic and non-allergic asthma is the best way to classify the disease,\u0027 said Prof.\u0026nbsp;Pearce.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHis project, which will be conducted mostly in children, aims to re-classify asthma using clinical and genetic data from patients with asthma. It will study 200 patients with asthma, and 50 without asthma, in\u0026nbsp;each of the five countries involved. The international team will collect clinical data, along with blood and sputum samples to search for biomarkers and genetic markers that may be related to asthma. These will be used to reclassify the asthma subtypes.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027It\u2019s important to find out not only the different types of asthma, but how these compare in different countries,\u0027 said Prof. Pearce. This global perspective could provide clues about what exactly is driving the global epidemic.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERecent studies have also cast doubt on previous assumptions that inflammation of the airways plays a crucial role in asthma. About 40 % of asthma patients showed no inflammation at all in \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/resp.12701\/abstract\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ea study\u003C\/a\u003E Prof. Pearce co-authored in 2016.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/bit.ly\/newsalertsignup\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg class src=\u0022https:\/\/horizon-magazine.eu\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/news-alert-final.jpg\u0022 alt width=\u0022983\u0022 height=\u0022222\u0022\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027We really need to have a rethink on what asthma is,\u0027 he said. Many asthma drugs focus on dealing with allergic inflammation of the airways, but if the cause of asthma is different in more than half of patients, other therapies may be needed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0027Ultimately, it could lead to better treatments for people who have asthma, as well as better knowledge about how to prevent it,\u0027 said Prof. Pearce.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EIf you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-kn31d66bdgaax6qljbbhc74xsgmnohfw-xkcuux6szc\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-Kn31d66BdGAaX6QlJbBHc74xSGMnOhfw_xkCuuX6sZc\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]