Validity and Inter-Device Reliability of the OTBeat Burn^TM Monitor to Estimate Heart Rate During Exercise

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Sports Science

Background:

• Accurate heart rate monitoring is crucial for exercise prescription and performance analysis.
• Wearable heart rate monitors are increasingly popular but require validation against criterion measures.
• The OTBeat Burn™ is a novel device requiring assessment of its accuracy and reliability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy of the OTBeat Burn™ heart rate monitor against a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG).
• To determine the inter-device reliability of the OTBeat Burn™ when placed on the forearm and upper arm.
• To assess the monitor's performance across a range of exercise intensities during a maximal incremental cycling test.

Main Methods:

• Twenty healthy males completed an incremental cycle ergometer test to exhaustion.
• Heart rate was simultaneously recorded using OTBeat Burn™ devices (forearm and upper arm) and a 12-lead ECG.
• Accuracy was assessed using Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE), Bland-Altman plots, and Lin's Concordance Correlation Coefficient (CCC).
• Inter-device reliability was evaluated using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC).

Main Results:

• Both forearm and upper arm OTBeat Burn™ devices demonstrated high accuracy, with low MAPE values (0.9±0.6% and 0.8±0.5%) and high CCC (r=0.998 for both).
• Bland-Altman analyses indicated good agreement between the OTBeat Burn™ and ECG.
• Inter-device reliability between the forearm and upper arm placements was excellent (ICC = 0.999).

Conclusions:

• The OTBeat Burn™ heart rate monitor exhibits high accuracy and reliability when compared to ECG during incremental exercise to exhaustion.
• Both forearm and upper arm placements are suitable for accurate heart rate monitoring with this device.
• The findings support the use of the OTBeat Burn™ for monitoring heart rate in exercise physiology and sports science applications.