Cystic Fibrosis Funding
Funding opportunity to make life easier for those living with cystic fibrosis
Recently, the Monash Institute of Medical Engineering (MIME) worked with the 65km for Cystic Fibrosis community and Monash Partners Academic Health Science Centre in an effort to help make life easier for those living with cystic fibrosis (CF).
After consultation with those living with CF and clinicians working in this space, we welcomed the development of new and meaningful solutions to the real-world problems of people living with CF.
Congratulations to the following two projects awarded funding:
PEPtrac - enhancing motivation during airway clearance in cystic fibrosis
Professor Anne Holland
Maintaining motivation and correct technique with airway clearance techniques is a longstanding challenge for people with cystic fibrosis. This project has developed a device that provides real-time user feedback on pressures achieved and pattern of breathing during PEP therapy. It is a standalone unit that can be attached to most PEP and oscillating PEP devices used by people with cystic fibrosis. It already addresses one of the Consumer Driven Considerations for (provides feedback on consistency of breaths, pressures and breathing pattern) and could address a second with minimal development (counts the number of times the target pressure is reached). The aim will be to design an engaging and motivating user interaction that can lead to optimal health outcomes.
A new anti-inflammatory therapy for cystic fibrosis in children
Dr Paul King
This project will aim to develop a new therapeutic approach to treat cystic fibrosis. Patients with cystic fibrosis develop lung infection that causes inflammation that ultimately destroys the lung and leads to respiratory failure and death. The lung inflammation in cystic fibrosis is the primary cause of lung disease, but as yet no effective anti-inflammatory treatments are available. The aim of this project is to use our established expertise to reduce lung inflammation in cystic fibrosis. This work, if successful, is likely to lead directly to clinical trials with a rapid pathway to a widely available therapy and potentially transform the outlook for patients with cystic fibrosis.