SBIR COPD
Case Study
Category: Brain Health – Digital Technologies
Department: Digital Technologies and Chronic Disease
Technology: Digital Health Technology (DHT)
Empowering and improving patient experience for those living with COPD.
Key Facts
- Approximately 110,000 people in Ireland have been diagnosed with COPD.
- According to the 2016 Global Burden of Disease Study there are 251M cases of COPD worldwide.
- There are approximately 250,000 people living with the disease who have not yet been diagnosed.
The Challenge
COPD places a huge burden on local, national and international health services.
With the age-standardised hospitalisation rate for COPD at 389 per 100,000 of the population, COPD was placing a huge burden on local, national, and international health services. Ireland has among the highest rates of hospitalisation from COPD among 44 countries in the OECD.
In 2018, a study explored the potential benefits of digital health technology (DHT) for the management of COPD. They recruited participants from TUH and St. Vincent’s University Hospital and studied their perceptions of DHT.
They found that patients reported a willingness to take a more active role in self-management using DHT.
The Solution
Building on a 2018 study, which found that patients would be willing to take a more active role in self-management using digital health technology (DHT), we provided a process which closely replicates a Pulmonary Rehab programme.
With a focus on aerobic exercises and resistance training, this new technology should allow people to stay well, and in their own homes, thus bringing down the overall rate of hospitalisation.
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