Aerosure during six-minute walk tests in COPD
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does high-frequency airflow oscillation, delivered using Aerosure, increase exercise capacity in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?
IRAS ID
124927
Contact name
John Moxham
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Actegy Ltd
Research summary
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a common condition affecting an estimated 3 million individuals in the UK, of which 30,000 die per annum. Individuals become progressively breathless due to their lung disease and as a consequence reduce their physical activity. This inactivity leads to a further worsening of their breathlessness. There are studies to show that vibration of the chest wall reduces breathlessness in healthy people and in patients with COPD, but these devices are cumbersome and impractical to use during exercise. Actegy Ltd have developed a CE-marked handheld device called Aerosure, which works by vibrating the air as patients breathe in and out through it. Aerosure has been shown to reduce feelings of breathlessness in healthy adults after 5 weeks of use. We wish to test whether using Aerosure during a six minute walk test increases the distance walked, and reduces breathlessness during the test.
Patients with a primary diagnosis of severe COPD who are able to walk unaided will be eligible to take part. The studies will be conducted in the Clinical Research Facility of King’s College Hospital, which is a University Teaching Hospital with expertise in the management of COPD and rehabilitation of patients with lung disease. Each participant will be required to attend for 3-4 hours on one day only. They will be required to have standard lung function tests, and then carry out three six minute walk tests, one with an Aerosure device, one with a sham device and one with no device at all. Participants will carry out the walk tests in random order on the same day. We will compare the distances walked during the six minute walk tests and the level of breathlessness during the tests.REC name
London - Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/1124
Date of REC Opinion
11 Sep 2013
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion