Researchers used AI to analyze daily urine tests measuring five biomarkers, accurately predicting COPD flare-ups seven days before symptoms appeared.
RT’s Three Key Takeaways:
- AI Predicts COPD Flare-Ups: Researchers used artificial intelligence to analyze urine samples, accurately forecasting COPD symptom flare-ups seven days before they occurred.
- Biomarker-Based Urine Test: A simple urine test measuring five biomarkers, similar to COVID lateral flow tests, enabled daily monitoring and sent results via mobile phones to predict flare-ups.
- Potential for Personalized Care: The AI tool offers the potential to adapt care plans by predicting flare-ups early, reducing exposure to triggers, or adjusting treatments to prevent severe exacerbations.
Researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze patient urine samples and predict when symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) will flare up according to a study published in ERJ Open Research.
The patients taking part in the study carried out a simple daily dipstick test on their urine and sent their results to researchers using their mobile phones.
Using AI to analyze the results, researchers were able to forecast deterioration in symptoms one week in advance. This could make it possible to take steps, such as altering treatment, to minimize or even prevent a flare-up.
Identifying Biomarkers to Predict Flare-Ups
“The current treatments (for COPD exacerbations) are reactive to a severe illness. It would be better if we could predict an attack before it happens and then personalize treatment to either prevent the attack or reduce its impact. We wanted to develop a predictive test that would act like a personal weather forecast of an impending flare-up,” says professor Chris Brightling, PhD, from the University of Leicester, UK, which is part of the National Institute for Health and Social Care Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, who led the study, in a release.
The researchers began by analyzing urine samples from a group of 55 people with COPD and looking for any changes in the make-up of their urine that preceded a deterioration in symptoms. This helped them to identify a set of biomarkers—molecules that tend to change when COPD is worsening.
Next, a urine test was developed, led by Global Access Diagnostics, Bedford, UK, which measures levels of five of these biomarkers. The test is very similar to the COVID lateral flow tests. Researchers then asked a group of 105 COPD patients from Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, and the Prince Philip Hospital, Llanelli, UK, to test their urine daily for six months, sending their results back to the researchers via their mobile phones.
Promising Results and Future Applications
The researchers used a type of AI called an artificial neural network to look for changes in the levels of these biomarkers and predict when a patient was going to experience a flare-up in COPD symptoms.
They found this AI analysis could accurately predict a flare-up around seven days before any symptoms appeared.
“Our study first explored many substances in urine samples from people with COPD during a flare-up and when they were stable. We found that a small number of these substances could identify a flare-up. We then followed a group of people with COPD and tested five substances daily. This allowed us to develop the risk prediction or forecasting AI-tool. We found the AI tool could reliably predict a flare-up in symptoms seven days prior to a diagnosis,” says Brightling in a release. “The advantage of sampling urine is that it’s relatively quick and easy for patients to do at home on a daily basis.
Refining the AI Tool for Broader Use
“We need to do more work to refine the AI algorithm with data from a bigger group of patients. We hope this will allow us to create AI testing for COPD patients that will learn what is ‘normal’ for each person and forecast a flare-up in symptoms. Patients’ care could then be adapted, for example, they might need further testing or treatment, or they might be able to limit their exposure to triggers like pollution or pollen.”
Professor Apostolos Bossios from the Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden, is head of the European Respiratory Society’s airway disease assembly and was not involved in the research. He says in a release, “COPD is a common and serious condition. There is no cure for COPD, so monitoring and treatment is crucial for helping patients stay well enough to carry out their normal day-to-day activities.
“When COPD symptoms flare up, it can lead to permanent deterioration, so we want to do all we can to prevent or minimize flare-ups. This research is promising because it suggests we can use AI analysis of urine samples to predict a flare-up before it starts. If it proves successful in the longer term, this testing could make sure patients get the treatment and care they need to reduce symptom flare-ups as quickly as possible.”
Photo caption: A urine test measures levels of five biomarkers to forecast a flare-up of COPD.
Photo credit: European Respiratory Society / Global Access Diagnostics
