Airway clearance techniques: supporting daily management of bronchiectasis
On World Bronchiectasis Day at 12.00 BST/13.00 CEST we held a special Question Time webinar featuring a panel of experts, including physiotherapists and individuals living with bronchiectasis. The panel explored the theme “Airway Clearance” by answering questions submitted by our Bronchiectasis Patient Advisory Group (PAG) and attendees.
Topics included:
This free webinar was intended for people living with bronchiectasis and their family members or caregivers.
This webinar took place on World Bronchiectasis Day on 1 July. 
Find out more about how global partners are raising awareness of bronchiectasis and for other upcoming events.
Justine was diagnosed with bronchiectasis and non-tuberculosis mycobacterial (NTM) lung disease in 2018. She wanted to share her experiences to help others in a similar situation so Justine founded the French NTM organisation MNT Mon Poumon Mon Air.
As bronchiectasis and the NTM lung disease affect people worldwide, it is important to make the voices of French patients heard in groups such as the ELF Bronchiectasis Patient Advisory Group (PAG). This gives us an opportunity to share our experiences with healthcare professionals to advance treatments and research.
Michal Shteinberg received her MD and a PhD in biochemistry from the Technion-Israel institute of technology. She trained in internal medicine and pulmonology, with a Fellowship in bronchiectasis and adult CF.
Prof. Shteinberg is Head of Bronchiectasis and Adult Cystic Fibrosis Unit, Carmel Medical Center, and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, the B. Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel.
She is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Faculty of medicine at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, and a member of the executive committee of the Israeli Society for Tuberculosis and mycobacterial diseases.
Her main research interests are bronchiectasis and its overlap with other airway diseases, mainly rhinosinusitis, and connective tissue diseases, as well as adult CF.
Prof. Shteinberg is a member of EMBARC management and heading Patient Activities Work package.
Paul is a Specialist Physiotherapist in respiratory medicine with an interest in bronchiectasis and research. He is the clinical lead for the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Physiotherapy Respiratory Outpatient Service. Paul is currently an NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellow at Newcastle University. His PhD is looking into the use of shared decision-making to support patients with their airway clearance techniques in bronchiectasis. Paul sits on the British Thoracic Society Standards of Care Committee.
Eleni Kortianou is a Professor in Respiratory physiotherapy at the University of Thessaly in Greece. She has extensive clinical and research experience in pulmonary rehabilitation and exercise physiology, with a particular focus on chronic respiratory diseases. She currently leads a research project implementing airway clearance techniques and home-based exercise interventions in children with bronchiectasis, and she has made significant contributions to the design and delivery of remote physiotherapy programs for both adult and paediatric populations with bronchiectasis.
Irene lives in Hong Kong. She had pneumonia in 2015 and was diagnosed with bronchiectasis in late 2024. With very little local resources and no bronchiectasis patients’ advisory group, Irene turned to the Internet for more information. This was when she started her journey with the European Lung Foundation. Whilst she is still learning from healthcare professionals to manage her lung conditions, she wants to share her experience with fellow patients to help others understand the condition better.
Danielle Is a Respiratory Physiotherapist with a specialist interest in Bronchiectasis and works in the Carmel Medical Centre Bronchiectasis Clinic. She is the Lead Respiratory Physiotherapist for Carmel Medical Centre and Clalit Haifa Area. She is currently completing her Masters in Physiotherapy focusing on Virtual Respiratory Therapy in Adult Bronchiectasis.
This event was co-developed with EMBARC, a pan-European network committed to promoting clinical research and education in bronchiectasis and the ELF Bronchiectasis Patient Advisory Group.
ELF does not charge for its events and materials. We want to make sure they are available to anybody who wishes to join or use them. To ensure we can keep doing this we ask that those who can afford to pay to make a donation.
We are grateful to everyone who supports us in this way and helps lung health patients to understand more about their condition and have their voices heard.
