Globally recognised centre now utilising patientMpower’s digital health technology to enable patient-centred care and support world-leading outcomes in lung transplantation
Digital healthcare company patientMpower have announced a new agreement with UZ Leuven, the Belgian centre globally recognised for excellence and innovation in lung transplantation.
The new partnership will see clinicians at UZ Leuven utilising patientMpower’s specialised digital health technology for remote monitoring and virtual care of patients who have undergone lung transplantation or lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS).
As one of the largest volume lung transplant centres in Europe, UZ Leuven currently manages the care of c.750 lung transplant recipients. Such patients require regular specialised follow-up, including spirometry, due to the high risk of complications. However, with clinic-based care even frequent assessments cannot remove the risk of complications arising between visits. And whilst shared-care arrangements between UZ Leuven and regional centres aim to reduce the burden of care on patients, the need for frequent follow-up still places strain on clinical teams.
Now, patients undergoing lung transplantation or LVRS at UZ Leuven will have the option of using the patientMpower app to monitor their lung function and symptoms at home. The technology’s tailored alerting, real time quality control and decision-support features may help clinicians to rapidly and accurately identify complications – such as rejection, infection, or other needs for intervention – from remotely-collected data. As early management is key, this approach aims to further improve the excellent patient outcomes observed at UZ Leuven.
Prof Wim Janssens
Prof Wim Janssens, Pulmonologist at UZ Leuven and Chair of the Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism at KU Leuven, explains;
“The lung transplant centre at UZ Leuven has a history of pioneering new treatments and techniques. Lung transplant and lung reduction surgery patients treated here have a higher survival rate compared to the international average. But a growing and ageing patient population brings new challenges. We want to continue to deliver excellent outcomes for our patients, and using patientMpower’s technology is a logical step to achieve that.
“Based on our pilot programme findings, we believe this technology can help us deliver effective follow-up care in a way that’s both patient-centric and efficient for clinical teams too. The real time quality assessment of home spirometry – through integration of ArtiQ software developed at KU Leuven – improves the reliability of home spirometry in post-transplant and post-LVR settings. That reliability is really important when it comes to making a clinical decision around patient care.”
patientMpower is a leading provider of digital health solutions for respiratory conditions. Its specialised solution for lung transplant is used by other world-renowned centres including Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, UK and NYU Langone Health, New York, USA. News of the agreement between patientMpower and UZ Leuven comes ahead of publication of research examining a digitally-enabled hybrid approach in lung transplant. A randomised controlled clinical trial, conducted at Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, examining the use of clinic-based care plus home spirometry (standard care) compared to patientMpower-enabled hybrid care is scheduled for presentation at the International Society of Lung Transplantation in April 2026.
About patientMpower
patientMpower is a specialist provider of digital health solutions. Established in 2015, our experience in transformation of clinical care spans across the EU, UK and North America. Our mission is to empower patient-centred specialist healthcare & data insights through digital innovation.
About Advanced Respiratory Care at UZ Leuven
UZ Leuven is a global leader in the treatment of chronic and end-stage lung disease. Its Department of Thoracic Surgery and Respiratory Medicine is renowned for pioneering life-saving interventions, including Lung Volume Reduction Surgery (LVRS) and Lung Transplantation.
UZ Leuven reached a historic milestone in late 2024 with its 1,500th lung transplant, maintaining world-leading 5-year survival rates of 75–80%. The hospital’s LVRS programme has similarly impressive outcomes, with a 90-day post-operative mortality rate significantly lower than international benchmarks.
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