Wheezo Experiential Program, page-15

I have been a bit slack getting started getting started on the trial. Only just set up the kids today on the wheezo app. Although the setup is very quick, and pairing with my phone was easy.

My 7 year old boy was very interested in the device. He was able to navigate the menus pretty much immediately. Each user is set up with their own avatar, so kids can pick from a dozen or so that they like. Thos ensures the right user is selected if you have multiple users. He was able to hold the device and activate the app on the phone easily. The app shows an interface that shows their breath as a wave as they breath, with a rainbow that increases in size to indicate how long they have to go. Test takes about 30 seconds. The result is then presented as a percentage of wheeze.

My 5 year old girl was a bit shy to use it, but came around to it when she saw the rainbow timer interface. There is also a text window that presents messages as the test progresses, eg"Your doing great". But on her test it indicated an issue with the way she was holding the wheezo. She was blocking the external mic. This was quickly resolved and she now knows how to hold it.

Neither kid has asthma symptoms at the moment, so the results were zero today. So this should give us a good baseline for the next few months.

One observation I had was, and it is not a criticism of the device. The kids struggled to breath naturally. They tended to immediately breath heavily, when told to breath normally. This is something I think will improve as they they become used to the test.

The animated interface is good. I think perhaps it could be improved by having a variety of characters to keep the kids interested. Not. a big deal but I think it would work best if the kids are distracted from their breathing.

There are sections to add details of each users asthma plan, medication, and current symptoms, which I am looking through now. I also received an email today that had some good explanatory info on the trial and the device.

Overall the device is very user friendly. I expect my 7 year old to be able to do it on his own now, and probably the 5 year old after a few more goes.

Just wondering about my moral compass, as I find myself wishing for a bit of asthma to return to the household, as at the moment it is under control.

I will update as we progress. I'm particularly interested in being able to visualise the wheeze rate before and after medication.