The University of Colorado Hospital is launching a statewide test program to track the well-being of emphysema patients from the comfort of their own homes.

The technology potentially could curb health care costs to treat a condition that affects as many as 460,000 Coloradans. The initial phase of the test showed the electronic monitoring system can save nearly $3,200 per patient over just a 12-week period, largely by alerting health care providers to signs of developing problems before they balloon into larger complications like pneumonia.

"A lot of times patients will have symptoms that wax and wane," said Dr. William Vandivier, project director. "They don't come in nearly as often as they should because for a lot of them, it's difficult to access the health care system."

Treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, or COPD - the technical name for emphysema - costs as much as $70 million a year.

The study was funded by $1.8 million in tobacco tax money.

The system works like this: Each participant receives an electronic communication device, a pedometer, a pulse oximeter that measures blood oxygen levels and a spirometer to monitor exhaled breath. The equipment gathers information on a daily basis, which is transmitted to nurses and respiratory therapists. If the results are questionable, they get in touch with the patient.

Gale Swope, a 73-year-old Denver resident who was diagnosed with the lung impairment in his mid-60s, said he's cut down his routine doctors visits to once every three months from two months since he started the program.

The system "asks you questions about your health that make you more aware about how you're doing," said Swope, a former Air Force mechanic.

The program, which is being adminstered by the University of Colorado Hospital and Kaiser Permanente Colorado, still is accepting applicants. Visit www.copdehealth.org or call 303-372-8378.

davisj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2514