Grupo Álava collaborates in the development of a monitoring system for patients with respiratory allergy in an environmental exposure chamber.

Grupo Álava and the research team on allergic diseases of the Health Research Institute of the Ramón University Hospital (IRYCIS), develop a monitoring system for patients with respiratory allergy in an environmental exposure chamber.

Grupo Álava, a leader in technology applied to different sectors of the industry, has collaborated with the research team on allergic diseases of the Health Research Institute of the Ramón University Hospital (IRYCIS) in the design, development and validation of a system for monitoring patients with respiratory allergy, rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma.

This is a research project associated with the creation of an Environmental Exposure Chamber (CEA) for environmental allergens. This chamber, the only one of its kind in Spain, will facilitate the diagnosis of asthma and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. The Álava Group has been the supplier of the hardware equipment such as the control and data acquisition software. Specifically, the aerosol generator model SAG 410 from TOPAS GMBH®, and the Lighthouse SOLAIR Boulder® particle counter, capable of measuring particles between 0.5 and 100 microns. The software, also from Lighthouse, is the LMS Express RT, and is used to monitor the number of particulate matter in real time to maintain a constant concentration in the chamber. The generator is controlled manually, depending on what the specialists are monitoring in the LM Express RT software.

One of the main challenges of the project has been to achieve a reliable and safe monitoring system for patients, and to allow professionals to easily access the data collected. The Data Science unit of the IRYCIS and students of the Degree in Biomedical Engineering at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos and the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, and of the Master's Degree in Machine Learning for Health at the Universidad Carlos III, have been involved in its development.

During each test, the patient completes various allergy symptom questionnaires, which will facilitate the assessment of the patient's condition during symptom provocation with controlled allergen exposure. For each exposure, nasal, ocular and asthma symptoms are recorded and assessed according to the criteria for positivity when reported by the patient. Upon discharge, the patient will fill out forms on a periodic basis, similar to the way he/she has done in the hospital.

Environmental exposure chamber image

The project has also included the development of a dashboard that improves the visualization of information, offering a summary of the data and alerts necessary for the control of patient exposure.
Dr. Belén de la Hoz Caballer, head of the Allergology Service at the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital and Principal Investigator of this project, emphasizes that "the environmental exposure chamber will be a fundamental tool for the accurate diagnosis of respiratory allergic diseases, allowing health professionals to recreate controlled situations of exposure to allergens, which facilitates more accurate diagnoses and personalized treatment. This is especially valuable for patients with asthma or allergic rhinoconjunctivitis that are difficult to diagnose, who can now receive a more detailed and accurate evaluation. In addition, he details that "with the data collection systems generated, we can now analyze data more efficiently, which will open new doors for clinical research. This will also allow us to offer individualized treatments and monitor each patient's progress more accurately in real time."
Juan Rueda, vice president of business development at Grupo Álava, highlighted the relevance of this system for the diagnosis of patients with respiratory allergies to the pollen of different plants and trees, since "it provides specialists with a reliable system for exposing patients to the substance that causes their respiratory allergy in a controlled environment, and also allows them to collect data on their condition. Not only at the time of exposure and immediately after exposure, but also during the hours after exposure".

.

Environmental exposure chamber image