The Team

Dr Sam Winter, Loughborough University

Dr Thomas Ward, University Hospitals Leicester NHS Trust

Prof Richard Guest, University of Southampton

Jason Xu, University of Leicester

Partners:

Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care board

NHS England Breathlessness Pathway Working Group

Project Summary

One in 10 people have trouble breathing (breathlessness). Breathing Pattern Disorder (BrPD) is a common cause. In BrPD, the way people breathe is abnormal. This makes them feel like they’re gasping for air, which is frightening. BrPD can be treated effectively by physiotherapy.

The problem is there is no test for BrPD and no way of monitoring changes in breathing pattern. This means it is not recognised as the cause of breathlessness and there is a delay in accessing rehabilitation. It’s also difficult to see how well the physiotherapy has worked.

The team has a new system (Non-invasive Respiratory Analysis: NIRA) to check breathing patterns using a smartphone camera. The aim is to develop the system so the software is ready for testing in clinics. It will support clinicians in community settings to decide if someone has BrPD faster and more accurately. This means they can be quickly referred. Physiotherapists will be able to track a patient’s progress and give the patient extra feedback and support.

They will work with the stakeholders to co-create the NIRA interface and with a diverse lived experience advisory group to make sure our system takes account of patient and carer needs

Contact: s.l.winter@lboro.ac.uk