Data Documentation and Monitoring for patients

While thinking about the application of our test system we thought about how the data can be documented and how it will get to the doctor. Our idea was to build a software where patients can document results and send them to their doctors in a standardized data format. The standardized monitoring of the data allows to collect all relevant information to allow the best possible monitoring of the lithium treatment and the effects it has on the patients.

Due to our talks with experts like Prof. Dr. Thomas G. Schulze and Dr. med. Pichit Buspavanich we gathered that there are multiple factors that can influence the lithium levels in the body and thus the result of our test. Our idea was to build a software where patients can document results and relevant external factors.

We present a prototype for the monitoring software that demonstrates how the monitoring can be applied. We developed the design and concept of the software. The software was developed by one of our attributors, Tobias Bergmann.

What is documented?

We learned from Prof. Schulze, that factors which influence the lithium levels are the amount of water a patient drinks, climate and temperature as well as the last intake of medication. In addition to that, some external factors that can influence the results of our test are the time of measurement and again temperature.

Measurement factors:

  • Date
  • Time of Measurement
  • Measured Value
  • Room temperature at time of measurement

Impact factors:

  • Amount of water intake
  • Time of last medicamentation intake
  • Day Temperature
  • Weather

From Dr. med. Buspavanich we learned that for patients with bipolar it is important to recognize their triggers for manic or depressive episodes which is why in our software they would also be able to keep track of recurring symptoms and assess their mood. This would provide the doctor the option to overview the symptoms in combination with the corresponding lithium levels.

We searched for relevant symptoms indicating changes of episodes and decided to track the following factors[1]:

  • Mood of Patient
  • Sleep
  • Sociability

How is it documented?

On the start page there would be an overview of the last measurements and thus the development of lithium levels. The data would be exported in table format, this means that the doctor receives uniform data from all measurements. The table can be exported and sent to the doctor via email.

The entry mask allows the patients to enter their measured values and the relevant imapct factors. Depending on the patient's needs, they can decide which data is entered in the software.

Figure 1: Start page of monitoring software.

Figure 2: Entry mask of monitoring software. Icons are taken from https://www.vecteezy.com/.

Outlook

The next step would be to ensure data security. The data contains private information from patients and needs to be protected. We would also reach out to more experts to gather as much information as possible about factors that we need to keep in mind. To allow a more practical application, a phone application would be the best way to implement the prototype. Another feature our software should contain is to recognize developments of lithium levels, alerting the patient for critical lithium levels and to include a reminder for regular measurements.

Sources
  1. Deutsche Gesellschaft für bipolare Störungen e.V. (DGBS). Patientenbroschüre. dgbs.de. https://dgbs.de/fileadmin/cust/dgbs-materialien/DGBS-Patientenbroschuere_2017.pdf