Inductive plethysmography potential as a surrogate for ventilatory measurements during rest and moderate physical exercise

BACKGROUND Portable respiratory inductive plethysmography (RIP) systems have been validated for ventilatory assessment during resting conditions and during incremental treadmill exercise. However, in clinical settings and during field-based exercise, intensity is usually constant and submaximal. A demonstration of the ability of RIP to detect respiratory measurements accurately during constant intensity conditions would promote and validate the routine use of portable RIP devices as an alternative to ergospirometry (ES), the current gold standard technique for ventilatory measures. OBJECTIVE To investigate the agreement between respiratory variables recorded by a portable RIP device and by ES during rest and constant intensity exercise. METHOD Tidal volume (VT), respiratory rate (RR) and minute ventilation (VE) were concurrently acquired by portable RIP and ES in seven healthy male volunteers during standing rest position and constant intensity treadmill exercise. RESULTS Significant agreement was found between RIP and ES acquisitions during the standing rest position and constant intensity treadmill exercise for RR and during the standing rest position for VE. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that portable RIP devices might represent a suitable alternative to ES during rest and during constant submaximal exercise.