Full Press Release Details
Solutions and Mount Sinai - National Jewish Health Respiratory Institute
Launch Pilot Program of COPD Navigator App
for Patients is First Component of Broader Chronic-Condition Platform
that Integrates with "Smart" Inhaler Technology and Clinician Dashboard
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 2015--LifeMap Solutions, an
emerging digital therapeutics provider and subsidiary of BioTime, Inc.
(NYSE MKT: BTX), today launched a pilot program for COPD Navigator, an
Apple HealthKit-compliant iOS app that helps patients monitor and manage
the symptoms of COPD. Developed in close partnership with researchers
from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and with COPD experts
from the Mount Sinai - National Jewish Health Respiratory Institute,
COPD Navigator harnesses the power of mHealth (mobile health) technology
and big data analysis to provide COPD patients with an engaging,
interactive coach in their pocket. A patient's doctor specifies the
app's settings and communications. During the pilot program, physicians
at The Respiratory Institute will work with patients who use the COPD
Navigator iPhone app with the goal of improving their self-management of
"Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-COPD-is the third leading cause
of death in the US, and it affects an estimated 24 million Americans.
But patients can slow the progression of the disease and improve quality
of life through effective self-management," said Corey Bridges, CEO of
LifeMap Solutions. "The promise of the mHealth revolution is to empower
patients with self-management tools that are engaging and easy to use.
COPD Navigator is the first product in our suite of chronic-condition
apps, which fulfill that promise."
"We've worked with the LifeMap team to help them design an app that
leverages evidence-based care guidelines, behavioral science, and
patient data to deliver personalized information with the purpose of
achieving better outcomes at lower costs," said Charles Powell, MD, CEO
of Mount Sinai - National Jewish Health Respiratory Institute. "As
physicians, our goals throughout product development were to help
LifeMap produce a product that integrates easily into a care team's
workflow and to maximize benefit to patients."
COPD Navigator: First Component of Disease Management Platform
COPD Navigator tracks patient data that includes symptoms, medication
and treatment adherence, and overall quality of life. This information
is presented in an easy-to-understand and configurable graph that
empowers the patient to recognize patterns in their own health history,
as well as to send this information to their doctor. Additionally, the
app helps patients avoid environmental risk factors by providing
real-time alerts about local air quality and extreme weather, and it
delivers educational content from leading respiratory hospital, National
The COPD Navigator app is the first component of LifeMap's larger COPD
management platform, which also includes Bluetooth-enabled inhaler
technology and a clinician dashboard for care providers. Through its
support for Apple's HealthKit technology, COPD Navigator accepts inhaler
usage information from any HealthKit-compliant, Bluetooth-enabled,
"smart" inhaler device. In the pilot program at Mount Sinai, LifeMap
Solutions is providing a smart device of its own design, allowing the
app to know automatically when the patient has used their inhaler. This
inhaler-usage information helps the app track medication adherence and
identify potential environmental and behavioral triggers of
exacerbations, which are episodes in which COPD symptoms suddenly get
much worse. Identifying trends and individual triggers can help patients
improve the overall quality of their health and avoid circumstances that
worsen their condition.
The other major component of LifeMap's COPD platform, the clinician
dashboard for care providers, is a HIPAA-compliant tool that offers a
view of the health status of their patient populations. Providers can
also examine a specific patient's record to see that patient's care plan
adherence and symptoms over time. They can flag high-risk patients, set
rules for events-based alerts, and intervene early with the goal of
reducing the risk of acute exacerbations. The clinician dashboard also
enables care providers to send health alerts and reminders to their
Leveraging Big Data to Unlock New Findings
As part of the company's partnership with the Icahn School of Medicine
at Mount Sinai, LifeMap Solutions is working with the Icahn Institute
for Genomics and Multiscale Biology to provide unprecedented amounts of
secure, anonymized data to facilitate ongoing research into COPD and
other medical conditions. The team plans to use this data to develop
algorithms for predicting exacerbations, identifying effective
interventions, and personalizing care plans based on demographics,
lifestyle, and clinical history. In addition to COPD Navigator, LifeMap
Solutions plans to release more apps to address other chronic diseases
"The analysis of the health outcomes and data captured from mHealth apps
and devices informs the development of an expanded disease management
platform," said Eric Schadt, PhD, Director of the Icahn Institute for
Genomics and Multiscale Biology at Mount Sinai. "This platform provides
a comprehensive solution for treatment of chronic diseases, including
further opportunities for clinician engagement with patients."
The COPD Navigator app is expected to be commercially available in the
second half of 2015.
About LifeMap Solutions, Inc.
LifeMap Solutions is developing innovative digital therapeutics in
partnership with the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale
Biology, which is located within the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount
Sinai. LifeMap digital therapeutic solutions integrate health and
wellness information with care team guidance into a secure mHealth
platform that empowers the patient to make better choices to achieve
optimal health outcomes. LifeMap Solutions is a subsidiary of BioTime,
Inc. LifeMap Solutions is headquartered in San Jose, California.
For more information, please visit www.lifemap-solutions.com.
About Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed
to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and
advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven member hospital
campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive
ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient services from
community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.
The System includes approximately 6,600 primary and specialty care