The SPEAK Study
During a flare-up of your lung condition, your voice sounds different. That is why pulmonologist Sami Simons from Maastricht University Medical Center+ (Maastricht UMC+) is researching an app that can ‘hear’ whether you are experiencing a flare-up by analyzing your voice. Detecting a flare-up early can help you manage it more effectively.
‘The pulmonologist who trained me could often tell over the phone whether someone with COPD was experiencing a flare-up. They would be short of breath and coughing a lot. Ten years ago, she already told me that we should investigate this. However, the technology for analyzing voices was not yet sufficiently developed. Not everyone had a smartphone either, and apps were still relatively new. But all that has changed dramatically in recent years.’
Bright Minds
That is why Sami Simons wants to develop an app that allows people to determine for themselves whether they are experiencing a flare-up. He is working on this together with three other researchers.
‘I know a lot about COPD, but not, for example, about developing apps. So we are combining our expertise. One colleague can design apps. Another specializes in breathing and voice sounds. And the third knows how to program intelligent computers to recognize patterns in people's voices.’
Sami Simons talks about his research in this video:
Say “Ahhh”
What makes this research unique is that the researchers work closely with patients throughout every stage of the study. ‘We can come up with all sorts of ideas, but ultimately, the people we are developing the app for need to find it useful too. For example, they can help us decide which features are needed and which outcomes are important. We could ask people to say “ahhh”, allowing the computer to determine how long they can sustain the sound. But perhaps people would prefer to read a passage aloud. Or do something completely different.’ Patients can still sign up to share their ideas with the researchers. You can participate even if you know very little about apps and computers.
Just as Accurate
People with COPD also play a major role in the development of the app. ‘For example, we might decide that people need to use the app three times a day to get reliable results. But will they be able to keep that up every day for two months? That is why we will also test the app in real-life situations.’ Simons does not yet know exactly what the final app will look like. ‘But I do know that in four years, we will have an app that can detect a flare-up just as accurately as a doctor. And that the app will be effective and easy to use for everyone with COPD. Because if you recognize a flare-up early, you can take steps to keep it under better control.’