Feasibility of mobile cardiopulmonary exercise testing

Area of Science:

• Cardiopulmonary Physiology
• Exercise Science
• Workplace Health

Background:

• Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) traditionally occurs in labs.
• Mobile CPET devices enable testing in real-life environments, such as the workplace.
• Assessing cardiopulmonary capacity outside the lab is crucial for work ability evaluations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the feasibility of mobile CPET (MCPET) in healthy individuals.
• To validate MCPET by comparing its results with standard laboratory CPET (LCPET).
• To assess the correlation between MCPET-measured oxygen uptake and subjective measures of physical exhaustion.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-two healthy subjects performed both LCPET and multiple outdoor MCPETs at varying intensities.
• Oxygen uptake (VO2) was measured using both mobile and standard equipment.
• Subjects reported their level of physical exhaustion and exercise duration (TEX).

Main Results:

• The majority of MCPETs (97%) were of suitable quality and well-tolerated.
• MCPET showed a strong correlation (r2=0.90) with LCPET, although peak VO2 was higher with MCPET.
• MCPET-measured VO2 correlated significantly with subjective physical exhaustion and exercise duration.

Conclusions:

• Out-of-laboratory MCPET is a feasible method for assessing cardiopulmonary capacity.
• MCPET results correlate well with standard CPET parameters and physical exertion indicators.
• Further validation in patient populations could establish MCPET for evaluating work ability.