By: Kourosh K.
Year: 2021
School: Fairmont Private Schools, Anaheim Hills
Grade: 7
Science Teacher: Michael Morin
In certain groups of patients with asthma, it has been challenging for both patients and physicians to monitor the patient’s asthma activity, and consequently provide a treatment plan as accurately as possible. A peak flow meter, a portable device used to gauge lung performance, in association with a medication self-management plan leads to a better patient’s health condition (D. Neuspiel, 2020). During the COVID-19 pandemic notably, it has been difficult for asthma patients particularly children and the elderly to routinely visit their doctor, and report their recorded peak flow measurements (Mehrotra et al., 2020, pg. 1).
This project aims to use software engineering, computer engineering, and biomedical engineering to create a novel Asthma Control Management System (ACSM), that replaces paper journals and creates a digital overview of asthma activity, reducing measurement error in data transfer. The personal and customizable ACSM fills in the need for a more continuous, longitudinal recording of asthma activity over a period of time, giving the patients the possibility to email the results to their doctor and for the doctor to adjust the treatment plan accordingly. Moreover, Data analysis reveals that the ACSM is as accurate as traditional paper-and-pencil standard peak flow measurement (SPFM) with an 88% R^2 correlation. Ultimately, ACMS provides a marginal benefit to asthma patient’s health over the SPFM system.
The mean of these systems was the highest in SPFM (33.9, SD=78.4), followed by ACMS (297.2, SD=55.9). There was not a significant difference between the ACMS and SPFM(T-test p-value=0.26632, with the correlation R^2, is 88.2%).