Jonathan Feldman, PhD and Sunit Jariwala, MD, were awarded an R33 Grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Their proposal, entitled, "A Novel Patient-Facing Mobile Platform to Collect and Implement Patient-Reported Outcomes and Voice Biomarkers in Underserved Adult Patients with Asthma" (04/01/2025-03/31/2028, total costs: $750,000) will conduct a randomized clinical trial at outpatient sites at Montefiore to compare the ASTHMAXcel Voice mobile app to usual care and evaluate its implementation.

Drs. Feldman and Jariwala developed this app through an R21 grant. ASTHMAXcel Voice incorporates voice biomarker technology that uses machine learning to assess respiratory dysfunction, including asthma, based on a 6-second voice sample. From the voice sample that patients record on their phones, a respiratory symptoms risk score is calculated to signify the patient’s risk of respiratory impairment. The score triggers an alert to patients when their asthma symptoms may be worsening and provides just-in-time adaptive interventions—action steps to address and improve their symptoms. The app also facilitates screening and referrals for social Mdeterminants of health (SDoH) concerns. By building SDoH screening into the app, patients are then contacted by community health workers to get the proper referrals to the support services they need, promoting a multidisciplinary team-based approach for comprehensive asthma care. The app also has tailored push notifications to assess and remind patients to follow through on these referrals.