Electromed has created an advisory board that will act as a resource to advance awareness of bronchiectasis and aid the company in developing clinical research plans and new airway clearance treatments, the company recently announced.
Electromed develops airway clearance devices, such as the SmartVest, for patients with chronic lung conditions.
The advisory board is composed of three experts in lung medicine with solid bronchiectasis experience: Drs. Chad Marion, Peadar Noone, and Anne O’Donnell.
“Electromed is committed to engaging clinicians, payers and patients with evidence-based information to advance bronchiectasis awareness,” Kathleen Skarvan, president and CEO of Electromed, said in a press release.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Noone, Dr. O’Donnell, and Dr. Marion — global thought leaders in the field of pulmonary medicine — join the Electromed bronchiectasis advisory board,” Skarvan added.
Marion is an assistant professor and associate director of the Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program of Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Health. He is board-certified in internal medicine and pulmonary disease. He has performed research on opportunistic lung infections and sepsis in patients with both cystic fibrosis and non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.
Noone is a professor of medicine and medical director for the University of North Carolina Center for Bronchiectasis Care. Noone also has a focus on lung infections, specifically on clinical work with nontuberculous mycobacteria infections, as well as cystic fibrosis, primary ciliary dyskinesia, and non-CF bronchiectasis.
O’Donnell is a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center. Her focus is in bronchiectasis, airway infections, sleep apnea and sleep disorders, cystic fibrosis, and noninvasive ventilation.
“In collaboration with these distinguished physicians, Electromed will continue to focus on educating the healthcare community on the effectiveness and value of airway clearance therapy in improving patients’ quality of life and reducing bronchiectasis healthcare utilization and associated costs,” Skarvan said.
Earlier studies of Electromed’s SmartVest showed that the device helps to lower healthcare use and costs for bronchiectasis patients. In addition, patients using it have fewer airway exacerbations compared to when they did not use it — also lowering the amount of antibiotics a patient needs to take.
The vest, which employs rapid alternating compressions and deflations to aid airway clearance, can now be used with a wireless technology that allows healthcare teams and patients quicker access to the generated data.