Technology Overview

Smoking remains a major public health challenge that leads to disease, premature death, and loss of productivity. Approximately 30% to 70% of smokers are interested in quitting, but in the US, less than 10% are successful at smoking cessation. Dr. Jonathan Bricker of the Public Health Sciences Division at Fred Hutch has developed an innovative smartphone app called QuitBot to help users stop smoking. QuitBot is unique for its use of natural language processing technology implemented in the form of a virtual coach. This virtual coach is trained with clinical knowledge of common questions asked by individuals attempting to stop smoking and can respond on demand to users. Following a pilot clinical trial with promising results, a Phase III randomized clinical trial is currently underway with over 220 individuals enrolled.

Applications

• Help users quit smoking
• Integration within a larger digital health app
• Research purposes: learn more about challenges associated with smoking cessation

Advantages

• Offers 24/7 personalized support with a virtual coach
• Innovative chatbot developed via natural language processing able to answer user’s questions on demand and reach out to users proactively
• Grounded in clinical research with one pilot trial supporting the app and a Phase III trial underway

Patent Information

Copyright

Investigator Overview

• Jonathan Bricker, PhD - Professor, Public Health Sciences Division