Development of Respercise® a Digital Application for Standardizing Home Exercise in COPD Clinical Trials

Area of Science:

• Digital health interventions
• Pulmonary rehabilitation
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management

Background:

• Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is crucial for COPD patients, but low uptake necessitates alternative strategies.
• Digital, home-based therapies offer a scalable solution to improve PR accessibility.
• Digital tools can standardize PR interventions in clinical trials for novel COPD therapies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop Respercise, a digital app featuring strengthening exercises and a daily physical activity program.
• To assess the feasibility and usability of Respercise in a 13-week clinical trial for COPD patients.

Main Methods:

• App development involved qualitative feedback and iterative design.
• A 13-week interventional clinical trial was conducted.
• Feasibility was assessed through adherence rates, usability surveys, and the 5-repetition sit-to-stand test.

Main Results:

• 97% of participants liked the Respercise app, with 88% finding exercises easy to integrate daily.
• Over 90% adherence was observed for daily step count tracking.
• Clinically meaningful improvements in 5-repetition sit-to-stand test times were observed for both males and females.

Conclusions:

• Respercise is a feasible digital tool for clinical trials, aiding exercise standardization in COPD research.
• The app demonstrates potential for broader application as a home-based pulmonary rehabilitation intervention for COPD patients.
• Further development could enhance Respercise's reach and impact on COPD management.