COPD Exacerbation Modelling Using Unobtrusive Sensors - the TOLIFE Clinical Study A

This work is a multicentric prospective cohort study designed to improve chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment and management. The study involves 150 patients diagnosed with COPD who are at risk of exacerbations. These patients are recruited from three tertiary hospitals in Spain, Germany, and Italy. The study will last 18 months, with a 12-month follow-up duration for each patient. The primary objective of this study is to develop and test Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based models that can predict moderate-to-severe COPD exacerbations early on. This will be done by analyzing daily-life data collected from unobtrusive sensors that monitor patients' psycho-physiological and environmental signals. By accurately predicting exacerbations, the study aims to support clinicians in providing more precise, optimized, and personalized treatment to COPD patients. A secondary objective is to train and test AI-based models to estimate the 12-month dynamics of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in COPD patients. This will involve analyzing data related to the patients' functional exercise capacity, dyspnea (difficulty breathing), and health-related quality of life, as measured by the Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ) score and the COPD Assessment Test (CAT) score.