ILD Care Foundation

THE GOAL

Across the Netherlands about 20,000 people suffer from a group of rare lung conditions which are grouped under the name of Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILD). Symptoms include chronic fatigue. Such a small number of patients means commercial research into the diseases is unviable.

The ILD Care Foundation exists to promote effective treatment as well as the prevention of ILD by raising awareness about the effects of these relatively unknown and poorly understood diseases. It is determined to promote the best possible quality of life for patients affected by them, as well as for their families. So it decided to fund a project to build an application that could continuously measure the progress of the disease to provide insights for both doctor and patient.

THE APPROACH

Reliable monitoring of ILD patients is extremely difficult. Traditionally, their condition has been monitored with start and end measurements. But the erratic nature of ILD quickly creates a distorted picture, and continuous measurement provides a more accurate impression of a patient’s overall condition.

In association with software testing expert SYSQA, CLEVR helped develop an app that works with a connected watch to collect and monitor data about the patient’s physical activity and calorie consumption. This allows the patient and doctor to monitor the disease jointly as it progresses. The two companies developed the app over two months, using only two developers working over the course of three sprints.

THE RESULTS

Patients using the e-health app enjoy a much higher quality of life. Continuous monitoring helps both them and their doctors see how the illness is progressing and create a personalised plan that is more effective.