Clinical Research Directory

Lung Cancer Prevention Screening Programme in Italy

This prospective randomized multicentered clinical study aims at implementing early diagnosis of lung cancer in high-risk heavy smokers in the Italian population. The main goal of the study is to develop a nationwide lung cancer prevention screening with high quality standard, similar to that of other screening programs i.e. breast, colon and cervix ongoing in Italy. The Italian Pulmonary Screening Network (RISP) includes 18 centers, which will promote primary prevention by offering a smoking cessation program (i.e. counselling and anti-smoking cytisine-based therapy) and secondary prevention by screening volunteers with chest Low Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT). The primary objective of the study is to demonstrate the non-inferiority of a risk-based screening strategy (less intensive, every 2 years) compared to the standard annual screening, in terms of stage I/II lung cancer incidence. Furthermore, the study aims to provide evidence whether blood biomarkers screening intervals can improve the efficiency of lung cancer screening by requiring less CT examinations while retaining the ability to diagnose lung cancer at curative state.

Study on Home Obstructive Respiratory Exacerbations

Strados Labs has developed the Strados™ Respiratory Care Platform, including the RESP™ Biosensor System, which encompasses a clinically validated wearable, non-invasive, Bluetooth-enabled device capable of remotely collecting respiratory data. RESP was designed to extend both the geographical and temporal range of lung sound recordings, which can improve the remote monitoring of high-risk COPD patients. The RESP Biosensor continuously captures lung sounds and chest wall motions that are wirelessly transmitted through a mobile app to a web application to be analyzed for changes in respiratory health. Preliminary data suggest good patient compliance and the potential for RESP to detect early COPD exacerbation. However, uncertainty on the optimal RESP monitoring procedure and insufficient longitudinal RESP data for definitive statistical correlation with COPD exacerbations warrant further study. We plan to conduct an observational study to assess feasibility of home RESP remote patient monitoring and secondarily collect the longitudinal data necessary to establish the correlation between RESP based measures and standard of care measures of COPD symptom severity.