Digital Health Sensor CapMedic Leads to Significant Improvement in Patients' Inhaler Use
Research reveals real-time feedback can help patients avoid critical inhaler use mistakes
LOS ANGELES, Calif., Dec. 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cognita Labs in partnership with researchers at Ventura County Medical Center demonstrated that patients coached by the new FDA-cleared CapMedic smart inhaler device improved their inhaler use technique by more than three times (with statistical significance of p<0.001) in a pilot study.
Ninety percent of Asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases) patients have been misusing inhalers for decades. This very often leads to ineffective delivery of medication and worsening health outcomes. Cognita Labs' CapMedic is a novel AI-driven add-on sensor for inhalers to address this challenge. Using interactive audio-visual interfaces, CapMedic senses inhaler use and assists patients with the correct steps for taking the dose. The abstracts with pilot results were recently published in the American Thoracic Society (video presentation) and European Respiratory Society conference proceedings.
Dr. Chris Landon, a leading pulmonologist, deployed the CapMedic devices in two studies in the Pediatric Diagnostic Center in Ventura. The goal of the study was to investigate inhaler use and remote home monitoring in pediatric patients. Both studies demonstrated that most patients had an alarmingly poor inhaler technique. On average, patients performed only one out of four critical steps correctly, while many got none of the steps correct. With CapMedic, the number of correct steps improved three-fold, with all patients performing at least three steps correctly and many doing all four steps correctly.
The first in-clinic study evaluated the efficacy of CapMedic in teaching correct inhaler use. The study enrolled 26 subjects. The study first monitored the correctness of the inhaler use and discovered that most patients made many errors. These errors were often due to nuanced steps in operating an inhaler, such as actuating an inhaler at the right time with the right inhalation flow. Once the CapMedic live feedback was turned on, the study data revealed that the same patients had a consistent improvement of more than three times and low variability in the inhaler technique. CapMedic's live audio-visual cues helped users by showing the nuanced moments more clearly, thereby significantly reducing the patients' errors.
The second study, conducted at home, used CapMedic to track lung function and inhaler use compliance in patients. The home monitoring study also demonstrated similar improvements in the inhaler technique with CapMedic. The outcome was sustained during inhaler use at home due to the repeated live guidance from CapMedic during every inhaler use.
"The studies show that engaging and timely live feedback from inhalers can improve their usage even for patients as young as 8 years old. Spirometry tests conducted by patients at home helped us to ensure that condition was controlled during the study remotely," said Dr. Landon.
The CapMedic device is reimbursable via its remote patient monitoring platform, which also includes an inbuilt home spirometer, app, and cloud features.
"Cognita's goal is to make its digital health innovations work for both patients and providers without placing an additional burden on providers. CapMedic not only helps with inhaler compliance but also enhances the experience of using the inhaler by making the process fun and less confusing. The improved experience is critical for prolonged adherence to the prescribed inhaler regimen," said Dr. Rajoshi Biswas, Chief Scientific Officer at Cognita Labs.
For more information, please visit https://capmedicinhaler.com/, follow on Twitter @CapMedicInhaler, Facebook @CapMedicInhaler, LinkedIn @CognitaLabs.
Cognita Labs is a medical tech startup on a mission to simplifying pulmonary care by breakthrough innovations. Cognita provides an ecosystem of patient-friendly FDA-cleared novel solutions for screening, diagnosis, and drug administration to ease patients' lives while providing physicians with tools to remotely manage patients.
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Gaurav Patel
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SOURCE Cognita Labs, LLC
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