The Culture of Different MKTG_150064494_2018 Service Line Big Book Full_FIN | Page 60

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The Culture of Different
PULMONOLOGY
How Do You Build a Better Lung?
new mechanisms causing BPD
that may lead to clinical trials.
He also is conducting studies
to find the earliest predictors
of BPD in premature infants.
Through clinical features and
biomarkers, the PHLC team
hopes to identify early events
and target them with specific
therapies, such as increasing
early vascular endothelial
growth factor signaling to
encourage lung angiogenesis.
Latest Innovations at
the Breathing Institute
Developing school-based
medical records
Working through Children’s Colorado’s in-house
innovation incubator, the Breathing Institute
is partnering with an external co-developer to
allow school nurses nationwide to access kids’
electronic health records. This will enable better
communication between hospital care teams and
school nurses who manage kids with asthma.
Using GPS to record inhaler use
“Innovation will either happen to us or with
us.” says Robin Deterding, MD, Chief, Pediatric
Pulmonology. “I’d rather it happens with us.”
To that end, Dr. Deterding, who has also taken
on the role of Medical Director for the Center for
Innovation at Children’s Colorado, is inspiring
innovations around the hospital, from adapting
wearable technologies for pediatrics to creating
more apps for kids’ health.
“Innovation is going to allow patients to have
better information control and understand their
own health,” Dr. Deterding says. “I want our team
to be a part of rewriting healthcare for kids.”
Here is a small sample of how Dr. Deterding and
her team are doing that:
Severe asthma is significantly tied to inconsistent
inhaler use. Heather Hoch, MD, pediatric
pulmonologist, is working with Propel ler Health
to use GPS to track where kids use inhalers. It will
help providers see where kids are using them most,
investigate environmental triggers, and advise
patients on avoiding locations that might trigger
their asthma.
At-home inner-ear EEG, OEG
and EMG
Ann Halbower, MD, pediatric pulmonologist, and
Tam Vu, PhD, a computer scientist at University
of Colorado Boulder, developed an in-ear device
for kids that monitors brain waves (EEG), eye
muscles (OEG), and facial muscles (EMG) while
sleeping at home. This helps providers understand
symptoms and determine treatment methods
for sleep disorders. Drs. Halbower and Vu won
the Best Paper Award at the ACM Conference on
Embedded Networked Sensor Systems in 2016 for
this innovation.
Steve Abman, MD has spent almost
his entire career at Children’s
Colorado, having completed his
pediatric residency here and serving
as Chief Resident from 1982 to 1983.
Twenty-five years after
pioneering the use of inhaled
nitric oxide to treat newborns
with pulmonary hypertension
(PH), pediatric pulmonologist
Steve Abman, MD, is on his
biggest mission yet: preventing
and curing the chronic lung
disease of premature newborns
known as bronchopulmonary
dysplasia (BPD).
His approach is to blend
laboratory and clinical research
strategies to learn new methods
to improve how the lung’s blood
vessels grow and function in
premature infants to prevent
persistent PH of the newborn and
preserve normal lung growth.
With the Pediatric Heart
Lung Center (PHLC) team of
investigators, he is currently
studying how events before birth
determine vascular health and
disease later in life. His animal
models of BPD have identified
“If you enhance how the blood
vessels grow in the lung and
restore normal function of those
blood vessels, we believe that you
can optimize growth of the distal
airspace in the lungs as well,”
Dr. Abman says.
“Clinical care is not isolated
from discoveries in the lab,”
Dr. Abman says. “It’s getting folks
together to share experiences in
order to develop new and effective
approaches to treatment.”
In recognition of Dr. Abman’s
contributions to the study of
lung disease in the newborn and
premature infant, Dr. Abman
received the International
Arvo Ylppo Medal Award in
October 2017 in Helsinki. This
honor is awarded from the
Chairmen of Pediatrics of the
five Finnish medical schools, the
Finnish Pediatric Associate, the
Foundation for Pediatric Research
in Finland and the Mannerheim
League for Child Welfare. Dr.
Abman donated the award funds
“Clinical care is not isolated from
discoveries in the lab.”
STEVE ABMAN, MD
Director, Pediatric Heart Lung Center
Dr. Abman’s vision to cure BPD
— and all forms of PH, for that
matter — extends well beyond
Colorado. To better share
data and research among all
caregivers, Dr. Abman founded
PPHNet, an organization of 10
healthcare sites across North
America. This collaborative is
currently developing a patient
registry that will integrate
data from electronic health
records to learn more about
patient histories, outcomes and
treatment responses for various
kinds of pediatric PH.
to the PHLC to help support
research expenses for residents,
fellows and junior faculty.
“Steve Abman is one of the
foremost pioneers and a giant in
the field of pediatric pulmonology,”
says Robin Deterding, MD, Chief
of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine.
“Through translational research,
clinical care and education, he
has improved care for children
with pulmonary hypertension
and chronic lung disease of
prematurity, here in Colorado and
around the world.”
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