Aetherus sets out to improve the quality of life of patients suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
COPD is a progressive and irreversible lung disease, afflicting approximately 384 million individuals worldwide (~5% of the population). The most debilitating symptom of COPD is breathlessness, which impairs the patients’ ability to perform daily activities and partake in social life.
Imagine feeling out of breath. That distinct tightness in your chest when you, for example, walk up a long flight of stairs or bike up a steep hill. Relief comes to you quickly by inhaling more air at an elevated breathing rate. Now imagine going up that same hill or stairs but having to breathe through a straw once you are out of breath… That experience comes close to breathlessness.
Breathlessness, also called dyspnoea or shortness of breath, is the frightening feeling of suffocation: you are gasping for too little air that does not get deep enough into your lungs. This experience is the reality for 82% of people diagnosed with COPD up to dozens of times per day and often upon exertions as basic as taking a shower.
Staying active plays an important role in containing the progression of COPD and maintaining the patient’s quality of life. Dyspnoea, or the fear thereof, often results in the patient avoiding such activities and resorting to a more sedentary or isolated way of living. This further deteriorates the physical condition, causing more frequent and severe instances of dyspnoea. This vicious cycle is called the Dyspnoea Spiral. It accelerates COPD progression, deteriorates the patient’s quality of life and increases the informal- and health-care burden.
Aetherus has made it its mission to help COPD patients break the Dyspnoea Spiral. With a patented, portable, and non-pharmaceutical solution, Aetherus will soon be launching its device for rapid relief of breathlessness. At arm’s length, whenever, wherever you are.