Launched in 2014, the CareTRx healthcare system by Gecko Health helps asthma sufferers monitor their prescription-inhaler dosages and avoid preventable asthma attacks. The inhaler links to an app, which tracks the users symptoms and medication behaviours.
Every time the user presses the inhaler, data is captured and stored in the cloud. Using this data, the app is able to calculate a percentage prescription adherence and notify the user when doses are due or missed. Small lights on the inhaler itself glow when a prescription dose is due. The app rewards users with badges for “good behaviour”.
Information gathered by the app can be shared with doctors and healthcare providers, and – with permission – can be used to track symptoms and patterns across entire populations. Systems like CareTRx are being used to help educate children on how to use their inhalers correctly.
The app and inhaler can also monitor when a patient is using the inhaler more often than usual, which could be a sign of inflamed airways.
Gecko Health, the MIT spinout responsible for the system, are planning on developing methods of monitoring air conditions (pollution and pollen count) so that CareTRx can use the weather information to understand why a user might have to use the inhaler more than usual. Data gathered from multiple users could also help the system make accurate predictions about how different conditions might affect asthma sufferers, and therefore give warnings to the user.
According to data published by the Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention, 18.7 million adults and 6.8 million children across the US are currently suffering with asthma, and Asthma UK states 5.4 million people (one in every five households) suffers from asthma in the UK. Systems such as CareTRx could help these patients control their conditions and help prevent thousands of dollars and pounds spent annually on treating preventable attacks.
