by Owen Hughes
Around 300 children and young people in Leicester will receive smart inhalers that monitor their use and provide feedback via a smartphone app, as part of an NHS-funded study.
The study, which began recruiting in early 2024, will use the Hailie Digital Inhaler for six months to examine its effectiveness in preventing asthma attacks in high-risk children.
It will monitor the use of preventive and rescue inhaled corticosteroids to short-acting beta-agonists (SABA) and assess asthma control, medication use, and number of asthma attacks experienced.
Participating GP practices in Leicester will provide up to 300 children aged five to 16 with Hailie digital inhalers, which consist of a digital sensor that attaches to a typical metered-dose inhaler prescribed by a clinician.
The Hailie device monitors how children use their inhaler and provides feedback on usage and technique via a smartphone app.
Family members and clinical teams can access this information through an online patient portal and offer interventions if necessary, with the goal of reducing the number of asthma flare-ups.
If successful, it is hoped the study will pave the way for more widespread adoption of smart inhalers within the NHS.
Dr Erol Gaillard from University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust, who is leading the study, said: “This could be a real turning point in how we help children with high-risk asthma in the UK.
“We know that many people with asthma struggle to regularly take their medications as prescribed.
“This study represents a huge joint effort from the NHS, academia, charity and the MedTech industry to demonstrate how devices like Hailie can help better control asthma and prevent children from being hospitalized.”
The study is supported by the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB, as well as the Asthma UK Center for Applied Research Patient and Public Involvement, Health Innovation East Midlands and Asthma + Lung UK.
Dr Imad Ahmed, consultant in pediatric respiratory medicine at University Hospitals Leicester and clinical lead for children and young people at Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (ICB), said: “We are excited about the potential that this study could have children at high risk of severe asthma flare-ups in Leicester and are pleased to be collaborating with the University of Leicester on this project.
Funding of almost £500,000 has been secured by the Small Business Research Initiative in partnership with the Health Innovation Network run by the NHS.
The main indicator of study success will be an improvement in participants' asthma control, which will be measured by the use of reliever medications, as well as a questionnaire on symptoms and number of asthma flare-ups. in children using the smart inhaler experience.
The trial is still in the recruitment phase and full results are expected in the first quarter of 2025.
According to data cited by a health technology company Adheriumwho created the Hailie solution, 21,000 children in the UK are admitted to emergency departments each year following asthma attacks.
NHS England figures reveal that asthma is the most common long-term health problem among children in the UK, affecting around one million children and young people.