5 Technologies That Can Help Lung Health

5 Technologies That Can Help Lung Health

Dealing with lung issues can be very scary. This year, California alone had various causes of Legionnaires’ disease. 13 cases and 1 death were reported in Napa County, with 20 others reported in Palm Springs and Palm Desert. Not only that but there was a total of 3 deaths caused by this disease. Therefore, many people had to contact a Legionnaires’ lawyer to ensure they are compensated for their suffering and losses.

There are many other lung health issues, though. Many people deal with lung infections, emphysema, asthma, and others. But technology is slowly making things look better for those affected. The advancements will help monitor and diagnose lung disease, improving the lives of the patients.

What are these innovative technologies that can improve your health? Let’s find out.

1. Mobile Sensors

Have you ever imagined monitoring your lung disease with your smartphone? Technology is making this possible.

Nowadays, people can monitor their blood sugar and heart rhythms with the simple use of little mobile devices that can connect to smartphones. This type of technology has also influenced lung health. A new device known as SpiroSmart lets people blow into their smartphones to monitor their lung function.

Furthermore, other applications allow individuals to manage lung conditions such as asthma.

2. Scanners

While healthcare providers can monitor and diagnose lung disease, some advancements are necessary to determine how severe it is. The possibility of doing this is closer to us than we can imagine, as researchers are working on tools that can help see the lungs and their state more clearly.

One of the things researchers are working on is a krypton gas that is specially treated to improve an MRI image. There is also another one that can help get high-quality pictures of the lung tissue’s actual motion. The airflow through the lungs is also monitored in the process.

3. Inhaled Drug Delivery Changes

According to statistics, around 25 million individuals in the United States have asthma. Many others deal with COPD and other similar lung diseases. In fighting these, patients often inhale drugs into their lungs.

Sadly, the delivery of such drugs was pretty limited. Not all drugs can be delivered efficiently to the lungs, at least not in the proper amount. Before reaching the lungs, the drug tends to linger in the throat. This makes it less effective and can even lead to side effects.

Fortunately, it seems that we are finally getting to a better place when it comes to inhaled drug delivery. Scientists are developing technologies that make it easier for drugs to reach the right destination in our bodies when treating lung disease.

One of these inventions is a type of dry powder that can more easily travel into the airways of the patient. This way, it can deliver any drug type and enable people with lung issues to get the help they need. Pulmatrix, Inc. is currently developing this drug with the help of Mylan. The drug is known as PUR0200, and it is one of the first to take advantage of the new technology.

4. Drug Regime Changes

Not all lung diseases have effective treatments. However, there have been recent advancements in this area.

IPF is one disease that lacked proper drugs. But not long ago, it was discovered that pirfenidone, an oral drug, can be effective when dealing with this condition. It can slow the disease’s progression as it can act on the pathway that leads to lung scarring.

5. Biomarkers

Doctors had a lot of difficulties in determining how far lung diseases have developed. There were no biological indicators telling them how fast the disease worsens or how far it already advanced.

Technology can change this. There is one biomarker that can properly measure emphysema and COPD severity. On top of that, it can also guide doctors to give the best treatment when someone is fighting these conditions. This biomarker is called Aα-Val360.

Final Thoughts

Lung health technology required some advancements, and researchers seem to be helping a lot recently. Progress allowed them to come up with new biomarkers that can track certain lung diseases.

Scientists also invented scanners that can help doctors figure out how much the disease progressed. Aside from that, there were changes in drug regimes. As you were able to see, a drug known as pirfenidone now has the power to slow down the progression of IPF. The delivery of inhaled drugs is shifting as well so that the treatment can be better absorbed by the lungs.

All in all, things look promising for lung health.

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