Cohero Health, an NYC-based digital health company focused on developing connected health tools and technologies to improve respiratory care, has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its mobile spirometer. The handheld, wireless spirometer measures critical lung function metrics with the same precision as clinical-grade spirometers. The mobile spirometer pairs with a smartphone or tablet, enabling real-time measurement and reporting.
The device integrates with Cohero Health’s mobile asthma and COPD disease management platform that includes bluetooth sensors that attach to maintenance and rescue medication and mobile apps that track medication usage, motivate, remind, and reward patients for improved adherence to prescribed medication. With the addition of their mobile spirometer, Cohero Health becomes the first company to offer both lung function measurement and medication use tracking in an integrated connected health platform.
50 million Americans suffer from asthma and COPD, and this number is growing. Continual monitoring of respiratory patients is critical as exacerbations often lead to costly hospital stays and can be deadly. Traditionally, lung function measurements have only been taken periodically, in clinic. Cohero Health’s mobile spirometer enables unprecedented remote, real-time monitoring.
How It Works
Cohero Health’s mobile spirometer connects via Bluetooth to Cohero Health’s pediatric and adult mobile applications, AsthmaHero™ and BreatheSmart™ respectively, to log and provide feedback on results. These applications also deliver customized medication reminders to patients, and track use of both maintenance and rescue medication via Cohero Health’s HeroTracker™ medication sensors. Cohero Health then tracks and analyzes the effects on lung function of maintenance and rescue medication use, along with external triggers. This data can be integrated into clinical workflows, to empower decision making at point of care, or as a long-term patient monitoring tool.
The Cohero Health platform has been deployed in closed pilots in healthcare systems. Early results have shown a 2.5 times increase in medication adherence, and 100% reduction in hospitalizations. The company is expanding to additional pilots ahead of full commercial launch of their full platform later this year.
“The inclusion of a mobile spirometer in our platform allows stakeholders to track, for the first time ever, how patients are using their medication, and how they are responding to their medication, in real-time,” said Cohero Health Co-founder and COO, Daniel Weinstein in an official statement. “Through robust tracking, motivating better behaviors, and early identification of potential acute events, the Cohero Health platform enables better patient management, reduced costs to the healthcare system, and most importantly, healthier patients.”
Outside of a doctor’s office, lung function measurements could previously only be taken via a peak flow meter. Such meters are less accurate, require manual logging of results, and only track 1 type of lung function measurement, maximum speed of exhalation. With FDA clearance, Cohero Health is the first to offer patients an opportunity to record clinically meaningful measurements beyond peak flow, such as Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume (FEV1), the speed and volume of breath over time. These measurements provide a much more accurate picture of lung health, and allow both patients and their providers to understand if they are at risk of an attack.
