Abstract
Late Breaking Abstract - Validation of Hexoskin biometric technology to monitor ventilatory responses at rest and during exercise in COPD
Introduction. The ability to monitor ventilatory responses during activities of daily living (ADLs) in adults with COPD has obvious clinical implications.
Objectives. To test the validity of the Hexoskin biometric vest (HEXO) to measure ventilation (VE), tidal volume (VT), breathing frequency (Bf), inspiratory capacity (IC) and inspiratory reserve volume (IRV) compared with a pneumotachograph (Ptach) at rest and during exercise in COPD.
Methods. Ventilatory parameters were collected using the HEXO and Ptach in 16 men with COPD (FEV1=51±19% predicted) under 4 conditions: at rest while supine (5-min), sitting (5-min) and standing (3-min); and during 3-min of stair stepping exercise at 16 steps/min.
Results. Analysis of each patient’s mean values recorded using HEXO and Ptach under each of the 4 conditions revealed moderate-to-fair coefficients of variation (CV) and low-to-high intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) for VE (CV, 8.3-32.8%; ICC, 0.23-0.76), VT (CV, 6.0-25.0%; ICC, 0.20-0.92), Bf (CV, 4.3-9.3%; ICC, 0.66-0.95), IC (CV, 12.0-18.8%; ICC, 0.12-0.68) and IRV (CV, 19.1-30.5%; ICC, 0.03-0.68). Bland-Altman results indicated low bias (B) and low-to-moderate 95% limits of agreement (LA) for VE (B, 1.1±5.4 L/min; LA, -9.6 to +11.7 L/min), VT (B, -0.01±0.25 L; LA, -0.48 to +0.51 L), Bf (B, -0.5±1.9 bpm; LA, -4.3 to +3.2 bpm), IC (B, -0.3±0.6 L; LA, -1.4 to +0.8 L) and IRV (B, -0.4±0.6 L; LA, -1.5 to +0.8 L) within the pooled data from all 4 conditions. Exercise-induced changes in VE, VT, BF, IC and IRV recorded from HEXO and Ptach closely tracked each other.
Conclusion. The Hexoskin biometric vest is a valid tool to monitor ventilatory responses during ADLs in COPD.