Abstract
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a set of progressive lung diseases including emphysema and chronic bronchitis that poses a significant threat to public health, as currently there is no cure available. Alternative therapeutic approaches, such as yoga and meditation, are attractive as traditional treatments are invasive and medications have side effects. Because of the gap in available efficacious treatments, a device was invented locally for the purpose of helping patients with COPD facilitate breathing. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to test the feasibility of this device (i.e., The Easy Breather Therapy Table) in a lab setting before it is distributed and used in home environments by patients with COPD. This is part of a collaborative investigation between the Easy Breather Therapy Table (EBTT) inventors, the School of Nursing, the CHHS Research and Innovation and the School of Health and Applied Human Sciences that involves community and innovation. This is an exploratory study the results of which will help prepare our research team to conduct a randomized clinical trial with the EBTT with subjects having COPD. Other outside funding sources have been identified for future support.