Ethical Pharmaceutical brands are not allowed to release any branded patient communication. China has a heavily regulated healthcare model delivered mostly through public hospitals and thus quantitative records of patients are not available in public domain.

There are also many restrictions on how and where unbranded communication can be done

A sufferer between 40 to 70 years unaware of COPD and even reluctant to test at hositals. Majority of COPD sufferers in China are undiagnosed. Thus a simple self-testing tool on a smart phone can encourage them to test and go for a hospital check-up if prompted. Majority of COPD

Situation: COPD is a progressive irreversible condition. It is the 3rd largest cause of death in China. Smoking, second hand smoke and pollution are the main contributors to this ever growing threat in China. 1 out of 3 smokers of the world live in China and about 100000 people die every year due to second hand smoke. China has alarming environmental pollution due to mass scale industrialization. Thus the burden of COPD is immense due to low disease awareness with inadequate lung function tests for diagnosis and treatment. Amongst an estimated 100 million sufferers, < 30% are not even aware of COPD.

Brief: Increase awareness for self-testing to prompt early detection

Objective: Develop a simple to use self-testing tool that fits in their daily lifestyle to ensure early detection.

Turning the mobile into a COPD self – testing tool.

This first ever COPD self-testing tool for WeChat – China’s most popular messaging platform was developed with the technology to determine the volume of breath blown into the microphone of a mobile. The recorded sound of breath produced a soundwave. Using the height of that soundwave, we worked out an algorithm (ratio between height in a sec & total height) to arrive at a figure represented by a tree.

The size of the tree represents the user’s approximate lung volume. If the result < 70%, a hospital check-up is recommended

By collaborating with a Pulmonologist and a popular Chinese blowing-ink artist, we made this tree interesting to share on social media to encourage more people to take the test.

Simplicity has always initiated a shift in behavior and created a major impact.

Data proves that the Chinese burden of COPD rests mostly on low disease awareness and low diagnosis rates. With 350 million smokers, 64% of Chinese adults smoking regularly, 70% of sufferers exposed to second hand smoke and increasing environmental pollution, the key to making a substantial change rested with awareness for easy and early screening. With less than 7% sufferers being properly diagnosed for COPD, something needed to change at the source to create an impact.

Thus, the strategy focused on:

Getting an expert to help develop a simple tool to measure lung function

Enticing end users with simplicity that fits naturally in their daily lifestyle

Breath of Life – the first ever COPD self testing tool has been housed on WeChat – China’s most popular mobile platform was launched on 13th April 2019. WeChat has an 87% penetration amongst smart phone users.

This mini program has just launched on 13th Apr,2019 to public on the wechat platform. Till end of Apri there are more than more than 10 thousand click rate.