Cipla introduces mobile app CipAir for asthma screening in India

Pharma major Cipla announced the launch of CipAir, a mobile application designed to enable timely and convenient first line of screening for asthma in India. The app aims to empower people by helping them understand their likelihood of having asthma, thereby allowing them to seek timely intervention and management.

According to the Global Burden of Disease report, the total burden of asthma in India is estimated to be 34.3 million. India has a threefold higher mortality rate, and two-fold higher asthma-associated disability burden compared to the global proportion. This can be attributed, in part, to the underdiagnosis and insufficient treatment of asthma, say experts.

In this context, the mobile-based assessment serves as an easy and convenient starting point for asthma screening. It can facilitate earlier diagnosis, enabling individuals with asthma to manage their condition more effectively and lead a healthier life.

Available on Android and to be subsequently rolled out on iOS devices, CipAir is a free, innovative tool accessible via Cipla’s Breathefree mobile application, the existing patient support ecosystem for respiratory care. Using a proprietary algorithm and software, the tool turns a mobile phone into an asthma screening device. The tool guides users through a simple, interactive process—in a quiet setting, users perform three exhalations while focusing on extinguishing a virtual candle displayed on the screen.

During this process, CipAir provides real-time feedback on the user’s effort, quality of the test, and steps needed to ensure accurate results. The exhalation sounds are analysed at the backend to detect unique acoustic patterns indicative of asthma. Within a minute, users receive a result categorised into three zones – Red, Yellow or Green, along with the suggested action based on the results.

Umang Vohra, managing director and Global CEO of Cipla, said, “AI-led technology is yet another step forward in making personalised healthcare accessible and user-friendly.”

Achin Gupta, CEO, One India Business, Cipla, said, “CipAir is a powerful clinically validated tool that puts health in the hands of patients and enables timely intervention against asthma so that they don’t have to compromise on their quality of life. It is our firm resolve to help India tackle its growing asthma burden and breathe free through such cutting-edge solutions that strengthen the asthma care ecosystem.”

The Indian Study on Epidemiology of Asthma, Respiratory Symptoms and Chronic Bronchitis in Adults (INSEARCH), estimated the national burden of asthma at 17.23 million with an overall prevalence of 2.05 per cent. The recent Global Burden of Disease (GBD, 1990–2019) estimated the total burden of asthma in India as 34.3 million, accounting for 13.09 per cent of the global burden. It also attributed that there were 13.2 per thousand deaths due to asthma in India. On the whole, India has three times higher mortality and more than two times higher DALYs compared to the global proportion of asthma burden. DALYS stands for the sum of the years of life lost to due to premature mortality and the years lived with a disability due to prevalent cases of the disease or health condition in a population.