Building a remote patient monitoring device for breathing and pulse tracking

The challenge

Pivoting from wellness to healthcare 

Spire Health was a lifestyle wellness device with a companion application that analyzed users’ breathing patterns to make one healthier and improve their mood. The system was initially aimed at tech-savvy young people and early adopters, but this market niche was highly competitive and challenging. 

That’s why the company decided to pivot from wellness to healthcare and deliver a device that supports users in controlling their breath, especially when harmful patterns or breath-related incidents may be a threat.  With entering the new market, the target group also changed, from young power users to elderly people, sometimes with diseases and disabilities preventing them from using the previous version of the UX of the app.

This video, featuring Mike Hedman, director of software engineering at Spire Health, was recorded during his visit to the Tooploox (now part of Solvd) headquarters in Wroclaw. It highlights our shared mission of improving people’s lives through cutting-edge products and solutions.

The approach

New target group, new compliance challenges

The application got redesigned for bigger fonts with better contrast, bigger buttons and fewer customization options to deliver the system that works “out-of-the-box”, enabling patients with disabilities or elderly ones to use the system in a convenient way.

Changing from wellness to healthcare also required engineering teams to ensure connectivity and reinforce the system against data flow disturbances. A set of procedures for connection control, data flow safety and reconnecting when disconnected was implemented. Also, the data flow was encrypted to comply with healthcare market regulations. 

The system was enriched with a dashboard, accessible by healthcare providers and users, where all breathing data was available in a convenient way.  

The outcome

Providing care and increasing patients’ comfort

With the new device, patients’ breathing can be constantly monitored when they are at home, without the need to be hospitalized, allowing them spend time with their family. The dashboard lets the skilled healthcare professional spot data or suspicious patterns in breathing. The new app is convenient and usable for patients with respiratory issues, including those with sight impairments or with low precision of hand movements, perfectly fitting the needs of the target group. 

I’ve been doing this forever, so it’s not easy to get me to say something’s working really, really right. To get contractor people saying, “We want to be engaged, we want to be part of the team.” It’s really… It makes my job easy, which is great.

Mike Hedman Director of Software Engineering at Spire Health