A recent WHO/Europe and European Respiratory Society report highlights that chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) – including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other lung conditions – remain widely underdiagnosed and poorly managed across Europe. More than 81 million Europeans, including over 14 million Germans, are affected.

COPD is a progressive condition that significantly reduces quality of life and generates high healthcare costs. A major challenge is the occurrence of acute worsening episodes, or exacerbations, after which lung function often does not return to baseline. These episodes frequently lead to hospitalizations and drive increasing costs for healthcare systems.

Between routine clinical visits, typically every three months, patients lack continuous monitoring and early warning tools. When symptoms worsen, many delay seeking help, increasing the risk of severe complications and emergency interventions.

PhenoVox addresses this unmet need. It is an innovative digital solution that uses the human voice as a continuous, non-invasive signal of lung health. Through simple voice recordings analyzed by proprietary algorithms, PhenoVox detects subtle changes in lung function and provides personalized recommendations. This enables timely interventions, reduces exacerbations, and improves quality of life for patients.

Designed as a digital therapeutic, PhenoVox supports personalized COPD management based on a physician’s prescription – for example, after a hospitalization or an emergency visit. Patients receive tailored digital support such as breathing exercises, secretion mobilization, or guidance on the appropriate use of standby medication. This empowers patients to take action earlier and with confidence, while giving clinicians objective data to guide care decisions.

For patients, PhenoVox increases safety and autonomy; for clinicians, it provides continuous insights between visits; and for healthcare systems, it reduces hospital admissions and costs.

The project is currently developing its minimum viable product (MVP) for clinical testing. The long-term vision is to create an evidence-based digital health platform that supports personalized treatment for all types of respiratory diseases, combining continuous monitoring with intelligent, data-driven therapeutic guidance.

Beyond COPD, PhenoVox aims to evolve into a screening and early detection tool for respiratory diseases such as asthma and pulmonary hypertension, with the potential for international rollout and broad impact on respiratory health management.

PhenoVox is developed by a pneumologist from Charité with backgrounds in bioinformatics and machine learning expert from HPI and Charité.