Wednesday 26 April saw NDCN's Breathe Oxford Group at the Nuffield Department of Medicine Building, taking part in a patient and public involvement event with the Oxford Respiratory Trials Unit.
This was the first of an exciting new series of events designed to illustrate the wide variety of respiratory research carried out in Oxford, bringing together academics, patients and members of the public.
The Breathe Oxford Group, led by Kyle Patttinson, ran a stall that showed how the brain is so important in the feelings of breathlessness. Surrounded by research stalls explaining how to make the lungs work better, the NDCN group was there to demonstrate their work looking into perceptions of breathlessness. They used interactive activities to stimulate discussion about how breathlessness impacts on people's lives and how brain research may help.
Ellie Evans's brain cake went down a treat, with the cerebellum and frontal lobes being eaten the most quickly. People were intrigued by a life-size 3-D printed brain. Performing the step test while breathing through a drinking straw was difficult for even the fittest - demonstrating the challenges many people face every day. The 'breathlessness board' allowed attendees to describe their experiences of breathlessness using pictures and phrases.
The event, which attracted about 30 people, concluded with talks from patients and from academics, who explained ways for patients and the public to get involved in research and how such involvement benefits everyone.