An Interview with Thomas Antalffy of Smart Peak Flow
Category: Blog
By Janice
24/11/2016
SmartPeak Flow's mission is to help patients stay on top of their asthma by giving an accurate measure of their lung function - a bit like a blood pressure meter does for people with hypertension.
For doctors and asthma nurses Smart Peak Flow provides reliable clinical data they can base therapeutic decisions on.
Hi Thomas, could you introduce yourself and Smart Peak Flow?
I am a medical school graduate turned entrepreneur. I have been working for two years on developing an affordable smartphone connected peak flow meter. The end result is Smart Peak Flow.
Where did the idea for Smart Peak Flow come from and what is your mission?
Asthma is a variable disease, which means that patients go through long patches of feeling well, followed by relapses and potentially fatal asthma attacks. When feeling well patients tend to drop their medication, sowing the seeds of the next attack. The basic problem is that asthma sufferers can not feel the condition of their airways until symptoms like shortness of breath start showing - at which point it might be too late. Smart Peak Flow's mission is to help patients stay on top of their asthma by giving an accurate measure of their lung function - a bit like a blood pressure meter does for people with hypertension.
For doctors and asthma nurses Smart Peak Flow provides reliable clinical data they can base therapeutic decisions on.
How exactly does Smart Peak Flow work? Both in terms of the plug-in hardware and the software element.
Smart Peak Flow works on the spinning vane principle, like many Spirometers used in general practices to assess lung function. Blowing into the device turns a small propeller, and the electronics pick up the rotation speed and calculate the airflow rate.
The free app (available for iPhones and Android phones) first Reminds patients to take their readings, then Takes the measurements and Charts the values. It enables patients to Share their readings with carers and also Rewards them for staying on top of their asthma regularly.
What’s next for Smart Peak Flow?
Oh, we are full of plans: - After completing our Kickstarter campaign (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1694930916/smart-peak-flowtm-asthma-control-in-your-pocket) we will will distribute the device to pharmacies. We are also working on a version of the app for COPD sufferers that tracks FEV1, the amount of air exhaled in 1 second, which is an important measure for those patients. And our API will be available to other developers to incorporate in their apps.
Where do you feel Smart Peak Flow fits within the wider Digital Health scene?
Digital Health has been lagging behind its potential due to the lack of sensors. Most digital health devices are souped up activity trackers that can reliably track a very limited set of vital signs. Smart Peak Flow is a new sensor in the digital health toolbox that will help the millions of Asthma and COPD sufferers keep track of their condition.
In the same vein, where do you see the future of Healthcare given the innovation going on developing Digital Health tools?
I think the Holy Grail of digital health is predicting patient outcomes. We can forecast tomorrow's weather with satisfying accuracy and should be able to do the same for the condition of individual patients. With sufficient data and the freely available computing power every person should be able to get a health forecast for the day.
website: http://www.smartpeakflow.com/
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"An Interview with Thomas Antalffy of Smart Peak Flow " First published on Company Connecting November 2016
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