The Journal of mHealth Vol 2 Issue 1 (February 2015) | Page 14

Industry News

Activ8rlives to Develop its First
Medical Smartwatch for Continuous
Monitoring of Oxygenation for UK’s
COPD Patients
Building on its growing focus of respiratory disease self-management and the rising interest in wearable health devices, UKbased Aseptika has announced plans to accelerate the development of its medical wearable Smartwatch - the BuddyWOTCH.
The device which has been designed to continuously monitor blood
oxygenation levels in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary
Disease (COPD) within the home environment, also integrates
other sensors to measure key vital signs and will automatically send
data from the wearer to the Company’s secure cloud-based servers
via cellular and wireless networks.
The solution comprises a, simple to use, wrist-worn device,
providing continuous monitoring and alerting capabilities.
The term WOTCH is actually an acronym for the variety of
monitoring components incorporated into the device: Walking,
Oxygenation, Temperature, Chronicle (image capture of medication, food and liquids) and Heart rate. All the biometric data
collected is then transmitted without user intervention, which
forms part of the Company’s ‘Always Connected’ strategy that
aims to simplify the self-monitoring process for people of all
ages and capabilities.
Respiratory disease is complex. Patients with COPD tend to
have co-morbidities – typically 3.7 additional health conditions[1,
2]
, especially those who are less physically active[3]. Therefore
in COPD, as in other respiratory diseases, exercise can help
improve cardiovascular function, body composition, insulin sensitivity and reduce blood pressure and inflammation[4]. Active
COPD patients have higher FEV1 scores (a measure of pulmonary function)[5] and a slower decline in lung function[6] and
so motivation to be more active can improve health outcomes.
Weight management is also challenging for COPD patients[7]
and with it comes higher risk of exacerbations[8]. Aseptika are
therefore hoping that the new device will become an indispensable tool for promoting increased physical activity and achieving a healthier weight for COPD patients, thus leading to more
effective pulmonary rehabilitation programmes.
Motivation and adherence to physiotherapy, medication, physical activity, healthy eating, and monitoring vital signs are all
important factors in maintaining respiratory health for those
with COPD[9], and early diagnosis and intervention are a critical
priority for healthcare providers. The vital signs generated by
the device will be combined with data from Aseptika’s patented
sputum test, which predicts the onset of lung infections (or
exacerbations) in people with long-term respiratory conditions
who are chronically infected with the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, so that they may obtain medical interven-

12

February 2015

tions earlier, thereby reducing the sometimes devastating effects
of repeated exacerbations.
The need for the BuddyWOTCH has been inspired by Aseptika’s experience of working with patient volunteers, who have
respiratory disease. The company have worked extensively
through clinical trials with patients with Cystic Fibrosis and
COPD. They are also currently conducting trials of their SENSOR app technology in conjunction with an award winning
research team from Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust.
Commenting on the BuddyWOTCH fast-track development
project, Kevin Auton, Co-Founder and Managing Director of
Aseptika Limited said:
“Our BuddyWOTCH will become an integrated monitoring and
alerting system, wearable for the “rest-of-life” by the most vulnerable patients with respiratory disease. Combining sensors to
monitor fundamental vital signs of COPD patients, will enable
patients and their carers to learn from their data and to better
self-manage this long-term condition. Younger family members
are often unpaid carers and this innovation will provide them
with confidence 24/7 that their older family members are safe
or give the evidence that they require support. Equally impor-