meet wheezo – designed to assist with asthma management

Asthma affected 339 million globally (2016), resulting in 418,000 deaths. It particularly affects children as their leading cause of burden in Australia. Asthma costs Australia $27.9 billion in total. Unfortunately, clinical asthma management decisions are based on patient memory of symptoms and is highly subjective. Patients are poor judges of their condition with 60.4% reporting "well-controlled" asthma when, it's only 30.3%. Young children are difficult to assess and may struggle to communicate symptoms. Well managed asthma may prevent hospital visits. Thus, wheezo needed to be an engaging and friendly wheeze monitoring and asthma management assistant for people living with asthma.

wheezo is an eHealth SaaS platform with a device and app working together to record and analyse breath sounds for the presence of wheeze. The app assists with monitoring self-reported symptoms, triggers, medication and local environmental factors such as air irritants and pollen. It allows for digitisation of a personal asthma action plan and asthma profile, and displays graphic analytics. Patients can easily share their data with healthcare professionals on demand. Developed in Australia, wheezo is useful for adults and is ideal for parents caring for children with asthma, aged 2 to 16.

wheezo gives people a clearer picture of their self-reported asthma, making them feel more in control of their condition. It also extends asthma care beyond the clinic - into the home and everyday activities for people with asthma. Sharing this data may support physicians in providing optimal asthma management. This data is digitally collected, connected and analysed rather than relying on manual processes and paper-based forms. It's a steppingstone for advancements in respiratory digital health. Future research and development will support clinical management decisions, potentially predict exacerbations and recommend optimal management response.

The wheezo device and app work together to record and analyse respiratory sounds for the presence of wheeze - just like a doctor listening with a stethoscope. The system is easy, quick to use and measures a child's wheezing. The wheezo eHealth app records wheeze rate and other self-reported symptoms; tracks triggers including pollen and air irritants; logs medication use and allows users to set reminders. It also digitises a person's Asthma Action Plan and allows sharing. The wheezo portal presents a person's self-reported asthma data including wheeze rate, symptoms, triggers and medication use. It graphically displays analytics for tracking and building a picture over time by relating changes in wheeze rate with the user's environment and asthma management. Data is securely stored and can be shared with a trusted healthcare professional through the HCP portal at the patient's discretion.