Background
“Of the 15 million people impacted by COPD in the USA, over 4 million belong to rural communities.” (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease 2023)
Meet the Team
Brianna Duhart
Senior WashU Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate with a Computer Science minor on the pre-med track.
Main role: Mechanical & Computer Engineering Design Lead.
Kaylee Flowers
Senior WashU Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate with plans to go into industry post-graduation.
Main role: Electrical Design Lead.
Eva Wilson
Senior WashU Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate with a Computer Science minor on the pre-masters track.
Main role: Website/App Development Lead.
Client
Dr. Ortega is CEO of MDDriven, as well as a board-certified pulmonologist with extensive experience treating patients with respiratory conditions such as COPD. MDDriven specializes in providing telemedical care directly to patients’ homes, supported by a knowledgeable team of engineers and scientists.
Need Statement
There is a need for a more accessible method to provide respiratory care, education, and training for patients with chronic respiratory conditions, such as COPD, that serves as an in-home coaching tool with real-time feedback on pulmonary physiology, thus improving the patient’s respiratory health and quality of life.
Project Scope
Patients with COPD have respiratory needs that can not be met by the current healthcare model of episodic time-limited care. Current in-clinic respiratory therapy requires frequent visits, which is unfeasible for patients with barriers related to economic, logistical, and other limitations, resulting in reduced patient participation below the expert-recommended number of visits, contributing to poor health outcomes. Therefore, there is a need for a more accessible method of providing respiratory therapy to patients with chronic respiratory conditions, such as COPD, to mitigate these limitations. The system will serve as a real-time coaching tool, delivering immediate, personalized feedback, and assisting the physician in providing patient-centered care with the goal of guiding patients toward healthier breathing practices and improving respiratory well-being in a home setting. The working prototype will be cost-effective, lightweight, and capable of monitoring respiratory rate, respiratory pattern, and inhalation-to-exhalation ratio. By April 26th, 2025, a graphical user interface, associated CAD files, algorithms used for data processing, final prototype, user instructions, a manufacturing guide, as well as the final report and the engineering notebook will be delivered.