X-Halo

Airway Inflammation

Inflammation, or swelling, is a normal response of the body to injury or infection. The blood flow increases to the affected site and cells rush in and ward off the offending problem. The healing process has begun. Usually, when the healing is complete, the inflammation subsides. Sometimes, the healing process causes scarring. The central issue in respiratory diseases, however, is that the inflammation does not resolve completely on its own. In the short term, this results in recurrent "attacks" of asthma. In the long term, it may lead to permanent thickening of the bronchial walls, called airway "remodeling." If this occurs, the narrowing of the bronchial tubes may become irreversible and poorly responsive to medications. When this fixed obstruction to airflow develops, asthma is then classified in the group of lung conditions known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Therefore, the goals of asthma treatment are: (1) in the short term, to control airway inflammation in order to reduce the reactivity of the airways; and (2) in the long term, to prevent airway remodeling.

Our Discovery

Over the past decade, the concept of airway inflammation as an underlying feature of respiratory disease has formed the basis for our understanding of these chronic diseases.
The observation of airway inflammation in victims of respiratory diseases came as a result of invasive methods of investigation (bronchoscopy with alveolar lavage and biopsy), and non-invasive methods (sputum analysis, measurement of nitrogen oxide in the exhaled breath, measurement of inflammation mediators in exhaled breath condensates).
However, these methods used to obtain information on respiratory diseases are invasive, time consuming, expensive and difficult to standardize.
In 2002, studies by Paredi et al. and Piacentini et al. discovered that the increase in heat production in inflamed airways can be used to detect respiratory diseases, by measuring the exhaled breath temperature (EBT) of patients.
To find out if the inflammation in the airways of sufferers of respiratory diseases can significantly affect EBT, we conducted tests to gather data on the EBT of asthmatics. Through our data, we found that there was a significant difference in the EBT of asthmatics before, and after anti-inflammatory treatment. This concluded that measurement of EBT can assist in the management of respiratory diseases by providing useful information on the airway inflammation of a patient.
This led to the creation of the X-Halo, a patented technology used to obtain critical insights on the management of respiratory disease.

The mechanisms behind the X-Halo

X-halo uses precisely calibrated sensors to measure the temperature of the air in your lungs - also known as Exhaled Breath Temperature (EBT).

X-halo identifies airway inflammation by detecting increases in your EBT versus your normal levels

Since "normal" EBT differs for each individual, X-halo uses the initial setup process to understand your personal normal, or baseline, EBT level.

Once X-halo has established your baseline EBT level all you need to do is use it once a day, before breakfast, to track your Airway Inflammation levels.

X-halo also integrates monthly asthma control & daily medication usage tracking into its routine, significantly improving asthma management quality, compliance and vigilance across the board.

X-Halo’s patented technology

The development of the X-Halo device was initiated by Professor Todor Popov of the University of Sofia, Bulgaria. Since then, hundreds of thousands of hours have been put into the research and development of X-Halo, to ensure the perfection of its measurements. Multiple countries have acknowledged our achievements with patents issued in the United States, Europe and Japan.