Dr. Henry Schmidt was the principal investigator for Strados Labs’ recent pediatric asthma study in partnership with Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago which was completed earlier this year. The Strados team was fortunate to meet for a short interview with Dr. Schmidt, who is now a practicing pediatric pulmonologist with Advocate Aurora Health.
Could you discuss the key objectives of the study you participated in with Strados Labs?
The key objectives of the study were to assess the performance and usability of the RESP® Biosensor in children with asthma. Pediatric asthma is very difficult to manage, affecting more than 5 million children each year and among the top causes of emergency department visits in the US. The RESP Biosensor offers an extremely promising solution to help clinicians better manage this disease but before our recent study, it had only been used with adults. This study was a steppingstone to further the clinical application of the RESP® Biosensor in children. To assess the technology’s performance in pediatric patients, we compared breath sounds collected by the biosensor to a blinded attending pulmonologist’s assessment of each subject.
What excited you and your team about the RESP technology?
The RESP Biosensor was an excellent choice for use in our population as pediatric pulmonologists. The ability to assess breath sounds remotely and in a hands-off manner has innumerable applications. From at-home use to in-hospital monitoring, the RESP Biosensor checks all the boxes to have promise to advance pulmonary diagnostics in children.
What were some of the key findings from the study?
The key findings were that the system as a whole is quite sensitive to detect wheezing, and the device was very well-liked by patients and families. We also found that specificity in breath sound diagnostic testing is hard to accurately measure, as the human “gold standard” is imperfect. It’s clear that the need to improve our gold standard does indeed make it difficult to compare without very large sample sizes.
How did the patients and their families respond to using the RESP Biosensor?
The response was overwhelmingly positive. All subjects said they would recommend it to others. The themes from our feedback sessions generated hope for improved detection of wheeze at home, better access to care, and an appreciation for its ease of use. None of our participants needed assistance using the device.
From your view, how do you think continuous monitoring of lung sounds such as wheezing could improve care in pediatric asthma and other diseases?
I see it as an opportunity to improve objective data gathering both at home and in the hospital. Clinicians could prescribe the device to asthma patients at home to better assess if they’re getting better or worse. We could also use it in the hospital to analyze when therapies can be titrated through earlier, remote detection of wheeze. The RESP Biosensor puts a reliable ear to the chest without having to add time and human capital currently required.
Apart from asthma, there are many conditions that could benefit from remote monitoring of lung sounds. We, as clinicians, rely on our stethoscopes to make a lot of decisions about our patients. Sometimes I will change the course of action for a patient with cystic fibrosis based on how I think they sound day after day. There is an opportunity to act faster and more accurately with this sort of technology.
What advice would you give to clinicians considering using a wearable device like the RESP Biosensor in their own practice?
Right now, tech like this represents a choose-your-own-adventure. Whether you want to remotely monitor your clinic patient’s breathing after hospital discharge or ensure your therapy is making the difference you had hoped, wearable technologies such as the RESP® Biosensor can give you and your patients access to quality diagnostics in a way that’s easy to implement. I wonder when (not if) we will be able to put numbers to outcomes (e.g. wheeze frequency by age and readiness for discharge in children admitted with asthma).