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ABSTRACT
Advances in mobile computing have paved the way for the development of several health applications using Smartphone as a platform for data acquisition, analysis and presentation. Such areas where m-health systems have been extensively deployed include monitoring of long-term health conditions such as cardio-vascular diseases and pulmonary disorders, as well as detection of changes from baseline measurements of such conditions. Asthma is one of the respiratory conditions with growing concern across the globe due to the economic, social and emotional burden associated with the ailment. The management and control of asthma can be improved by consistent monitoring of the condition in real-time since attack could occur anytime and anywhere. This paper proposes the use of smartphone equipped with built-in sensors, to capture and analyze early symptoms of asthma triggered by exercise. The system design is based on decision support system (DSS) techniques for measuring and analyzing the level and type of patient’s physical activity as well as weather conditions that predispose asthma attack. Preliminary results show that smartphones can be used to monitor and detect asthma symptoms without other networked devices. This would enhance the usability of the health system while ensuring user’s data privacy, and reducing the overall cost of system deployment. Further, the proposed system can serve as a handy tool for a quick medical response for asthmatics in low-income countries where there is limited access to specialized medical devices and shortages of health professionals. Development of such monitoring systems signals a positive response to lessen the global burden of asthma.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Chinazunwa Uwaoma is a PhD candidate at the Department of Computing, The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica. She received her M.Sc. degree in Digital Technology from the University in 2012. She has years of experience in computer systems and network administration, as well as in embedded systems design. Her research interests cover mobile computing, wireless body sensor networks, embedded expert systems, and assisted living.
Gunjan Mansingh is a senior Lecturer and coordinator of undergraduate studies at the Department of Computing, The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica. Her research interests include Business Intelligence, Data Mining, Decision Support Systems, Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems, Expert Systems and Technology Adoption. Her research contributions cut across different domains in Jamaica such as healthcare, crime, agriculture and e-commerce.
Notes
* Doug Vogel is the accepting Associate Editor for this article.