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A novel acquisition platform for long-term breathing frequency monitoring based on inertial measurement units

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Abstract

Continuous monitoring of breathing frequency (fB) could foster early prediction of adverse clinical effects and exacerbation of medical conditions. Current solutions are invasive or obtrusive and thus not suitable for prolonged monitoring outside the clinical setting. Previous studies demonstrated the feasibility of deriving fB by measuring inclination changes due to breathing using accelerometers or inertial measurement units (IMU). Nevertheless, few studies faced the problem of motion artifacts that limit the use of IMU-based systems for continuous monitoring. Moreover, few attempts have been made to move towards real portability and wearability of such devices. This paper proposes a wearable IMU-based device that communicates via Bluetooth with a smartphone, uploading data on a web server to allow remote monitoring. Two IMU units are placed on thorax and abdomen to record breathing-related movements, while a third IMU unit records body/trunk motion and is used as reference. The performance of the proposed system was evaluated in terms of long-acquisition-platform reliability showing good performances in terms of duration and data loss amount. The device was preliminarily tested in terms of accuracy in breathing temporal parameter measurement, in static condition, during postural changes, and during slight indoor activities showing favorable comparison against the reference methods (mean error breathing frequency < 5%).

Proof of concept of a wearable, wireless, modular respiratory Holter based on inertial measurement units (IMUS) for the continuous breathing pattern monitoring through the detection of chest wall breathing-related movements.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank “Fondazione per la Ricerca Scientifica Termale grants” for the financial support and all the participants. A special thanks to Davide Redaelli for the support in the realization of the housing boxes, from CAD modeling to 3D printing. We also want to thank Prof.ssa Galli and Dr. Nicola Cau, of the “Posture and Movement Analysis Laboratory “Luigi Divieti” of the Department of Bioengineering of the Politecnico di Milano, for their willingness and kindness to lend us the K5 Cosmed system and assist us during the acquisitions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32, 20133, Milan, Italy

    Ambra Cesareo & Andrea Aliverti

  2. Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, Bioengineering Lab, Via Don Luigi Monza, 20, Bosisio Parini, Lecco, Italy

    Emilia Biffi

  3. Technological Institute of Informatics, Universitat Politècnica de València, Alcoi Campus, Plaza Ferrandiz y Carbonell, 2, 03801, Alcoi, Spain

    David Cuesta-Frau

  4. Department of Neurorehabilitation, Neuromuscular Unit, Scientific Institute, IRCCS E. Medea, Via Don Luigi Monza, 20, Bosisio Parini, 23842, Lecco, Italy

    Maria G. D’Angelo

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  1. Ambra Cesareo
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  2. Emilia Biffi
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  4. Maria G. D’Angelo
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  5. Andrea Aliverti
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Correspondence to Emilia Biffi.

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Glossary of terms

IMU

Inertial measurement unit

APU

Abdominal peripheral unit

TPU

Thoracic peripheral unit

RCU

Reference central unit

\( {}_{Earth}{}^{TPU}\hat{q} \)

Quaternion representing the orientation of the TPU relative to the Earth frame

\( {}_{Earth}{}^{APU}\hat{q} \)

Quaternion representing the orientation of the APU relative to the Earth frame

\( {}_{Earth}{}^{RCU}\hat{q} \)

Quaternion representing the orientation of the RCU relative to the Earth frame

\( {}_{RCU}{}^{TPU}\hat{q} \)

Compound quaternion representing the orientation of the TPU relative to the RCU

\( {}_{RCU}{}^{APU}\hat{q} \)

Compound quaternion representing the orientation of the APU relative to the RCU

JSON

JavaScript Object Notation: open-standard file format used for asynchronous browser–server communication that uses human-readable text to transmit data objects consisting of attribute–value pairs and array data types.

OEP

Optoelectronic plethysmography: a method to evaluate ventilation through an external measurement of the chest wall surface motion through motion capture system.

SVC

Slow vital capacity maneuver consists of a low complete expiration after a maximal inspiration without forced or rapid effort.

QB

Quiet breathing

PSD

Power spectral density estimate, describes the power present in the signal as a function of frequency, per unit frequency, expressed in dB/Hz

fB

Breathing frequency, is the number of breaths per minute, [breaths/min]

TI

Inspiratory time, is the time taken for inhalation, expressed as seconds [s]

TE

Expiratory time, is the time taken for exhalation, expressed as seconds [s]

d

Bias between measurements obtained by using the device and the reference method (OEP) computed as mean of the differences (Device-OEP) of the Bland-Altman plot

LOAs

Upper and lower limits of agreement of the Bland-Altman plots, obtained as d ± 1.96*SD of the differences (Device-OEP)

CI

95% confidence intervals

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Cesareo, A., Biffi, E., Cuesta-Frau, D. et al. A novel acquisition platform for long-term breathing frequency monitoring based on inertial measurement units. Med Biol Eng Comput 58, 785–804 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-020-02125-9

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