# Enabling Independent Living by Expanding Access to Home-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation

> **NIH NIH R43** · MINNESOTA HEALTHSOLUTIONS CORPORATION · 2020 · $224,948

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Minnesota HealthSolutions Corporation in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic proposes to further develop and
refine a system for monitoring home rehabilitation of Chronic Obstrutive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD is
a progressive lung disease that usually worsens over time and eventually may make it difficult for people to
carry out regular, simple daily activities, such as walking or taking care of oneself. In the United States COPD
is the fourth leading cause of death and continues to increase. Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) has
demonstrated effectiveness for patients with COPD and is currently offered in hospitals and medical centers.
Many people with COPD do not attend PR. With funding from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute we
have developed and tested a system that has demonstrated it is possible to use current technology to facilitate
home PR for patients with COPD. While the current system was designed for usability by older adults, through
our first study we have identified key improvements to enhance its accessibility and increase engagement. We
aim through this project to prototype and qualitatively evaluate those features.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9949241
- **Project number:** 1R43HL151461-01
- **Recipient organization:** MINNESOTA HEALTHSOLUTIONS CORPORATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Roberto Pablo Benzo
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $224,948
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9949241

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9949241, Enabling Independent Living by Expanding Access to Home-Based Pulmonary Rehabilitation (1R43HL151461-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9949241. Licensed CC0.

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