A connected health experience for people living with Asthma and COPD

By 2025 asthma is predicted to affect over 400 million people worldwide and by 2032, COPD is predicted to be the world’s leading cause of death. Meta-analysis has concluded that 86% of inhaler users make at least one inhalation error daily and that 50% experience a critical error leading to poor symptom control, increased risk of hospitalisation and a higher risk of mortality.
Working with Respiratory Analytics, our challenge was to create a simple experience that could improve daily inhalation technique and medicines adherence as well as provide critical data to inform clinical decision making.

We carried out several rounds of research to understand patients’ challenges and day-to-day experience. We created user journeys maps that we tested and developed into storyboards to illustrate the patient experience. Following over 100 conversations with various stakeholders, we designed a holistic solution that encompasses three distinct interfaces:

• A companion app, that helps users by providing essential content, advice and data
• A clinical dashboard, that empowers clinicians to monitor treatment adherence and optimise care
• A supporting website to provide patients with further information

aflo combines a ‘smart inhaler’, a patient-centred app and a data analytics tool so that healthcare teams can get real-time feedback from patient engagement and inhalation. By combining instructional content design, an intuitive mobile experience, sensor tech and patient data, aflo helps patients to manage their asthma and COPD symptoms.

aflo is a glimpse into the future of healthcare – a revolutionary connected health experience that helps users identify and deal with potential asthma attack triggers.

There are thousands of apps out there to help with Asthma and COPD. The value Aflo adds is the longitudinal data to start building patterns. This is why design is so important.

Susan Kelly

CEO aflo