11.03.2025 Innovative Decision Support System Aims for the Improvement of the Diagnosis and Treatment of the Lung Disease COPD

Start of the Clinical Study -Cooperation Project PerMed-COPD Funded with up to Four Million Euros

Physicians discussed the new treatment platform for COPD at a symposium. Now, the research project enters the study phase.

A new clinical decision support system (CDSS) aims for further enhancing the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and for drastically improving the quality of life of the patients. Led by Prof. Dr. Claus Vogelmeier, a team of physicians from various institutions is developing a platform that will help doctors to make precise individual diagnoses and recommend tailored therapies - especially in the case of comorbidities. In particular, the team focusses on the early detection of risks in order to slow down the course of the disease and to render possible a better life for a longer time. For this project, called PerMed-COPD, the School of Medicine in Marburg receives around four million euros. The total amount of funding for the cooperation partners amounts to five million euros. These include universities in Heidelberg, Munich, and Münster as well as a midsize company.

The lung disease is usually recognized late

COPD is the third most common cause of death worldwide. “It continues to be of great importance due to increasing life expectancy,” says Prof. Dr. Bernd Schmeck, head of the Institute for Lung Research at the University of Marburg. COPD significantly impairs the quality of life of the patients. It also places a heavy burden on society due to treatment and hospital costs as well as the loss of working capacity. “Unfortunately, COPD is often not diagnosed until it is already in an advanced stage,” says Prof. Dr. Claus Vogelmeier, Director of the Department of Internal Medicine with a focus on pneumology at the University Medical Center in Marburg. “COPD patients often also have other diseases that require treatment, making medical care a challenging task,” explains Vogelmeier. A good therapy concept requires not only to focus on the lungs, but also to diagnose the other diseases and to include them in the therapy plan. In this way, patients’ quality of life can be significantly improved and complications can be avoided.

The clinical decision support system CDSS is intended to support the attending physicians in finding an individually correct diagnosis as well as in recommending suitable treatments that also take into account comorbidities. The CDSS uses results from the Germany-wide COPD cohort COSYCONET and resorts to patients' general health data, CT images of the lungs, and molecular markers.

Clinical study starts in March

After extensive preparatory work, the clinical study is now starting, first in Marburg and Munich, and later at at least 11 study sites: In addition to the University Medical Centers in Marburg and Giessen, the Helios Hospital Emil von Behring, the Leibniz Lung Center Borstel, the St. Barbara-Klinik Hamm-Heessen, the Klinikum Itzehoe, the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel, the Fachkrankenhaus Kloster Grafschaft, the Universitätsmedizin Mainz, the clinic of the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität in Munich and the Klinikum Nürnberg are involved.

Patients aged 40 and over with a COPD diagnosis and a good knowledge of the German language can take part: The CDSS will be used in around half of the patients participating in the study, with the other patients forming the control group.

Further information: https://www.uni-marburg.de/en/fb20/permed-copd