Asthmapolis Wants To Hack The Inhaler And Help 26 Million Americans Better Track And Manage Their Asthma

Unless you’re reading this while using an inhaler, this fact may surprise you: According to the CDC, 26 million Americans currently have the chronic respiratory disease we know as asthma. Not only that, but the CDC tells us that the disease costs the U.S. $3,300 per person annually, and medical expenses associated with asthma have increased to about $56 billion (thanks to hospitalizations, emergency room visits and missed work), while over 10 percent of insured Americans are unable to afford their prescription medicines. Asthmapolis launched in 2010 to help find a solution by leveraging the advances in sensor technology (and the reduced costs of producing said sensors) and mobile data monitoring to help people manage their asthma more effectively, in turn reducing the costs both for those suffering from asthma and for the U.S. healthcare system itself. And, today, the Wisconsin-based startup has announced that it has raised $5 million in Series A financing from The Social+Capital Partnership to build out a comprehensive solution and support system for those with the chronic respiratory disease. Asthmapolis is one of a new generation of digital health startups attempting to hack the old software, devices and care systems that continue to prevail in today’s healthcare landscape. We recently wrote about Intersect ENT, for example, which is hacking stents (yes, stents) to help doctors more effectively treat the 31 million-plus people suffering from sinusitis. Meanwhile, Glooko, Omada Health and a number of other startups are bringing mobile and digital technology to those with diabetes to help them manage the condition and, in Omada’s case, hopefully even prevent it. Asthmapolis, on the other hand, is on a mission to hack your inhaler. The startup has designed snap-on, Bluetooth-enabled sensors that track how often people are using their inhalers (along with location and time-of-day), along with analytics and mobile apps for iOS and Android to help them visualize and understand their triggers and trends while receiving personalized feedback. In turn, the data collected by the solution enables doctors to identify patients who are risk or need more help controlling its symptoms. This allows them to potentially prevent attacks before they happen, saving them the cost of hospitalization or a trip to the emergency room. In fact, Asthmapolis’ early studies found that this access to realtime data was able to reduce the number of people with uncontrolled asthma (or those not regularly using inhalers) by 50 percent.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/bhoWb4hQ_U4/

easter april fools pranks atlanta braves Happy Easter Game Of Thrones Season 3 campfire Kordell Stewart