The technology, which can track items like pets or goods in warehouses, has been adapted to analyze breathing through tags attached to the chest. In healthcare, there is a significant demand for flexible, reliable, and cost-effective measurement methods. Currently, image-based methods such as X-rays are commonly used for breathing analysis, requiring advanced equipment in hospital settings.
With this new approach, breathing can be analyzed completely contactlessly, both at home and in hospitals. The technology makes advanced analysis of respiratory function more accessible to patients. For individuals with lung disease or post-surgery, precise and reliable breathing analysis is crucial.
This is an important step toward developing individualized rehabilitation for patients recovering from surgery or living with chronic lung diseases. Tests conducted at Sahlgrenska University Hospital's simulation center showed that researchers could read small differences in breathing movements at various measurement points in most tests, with results providing a good picture of respiratory function. Researchers expressed satisfaction with the promising results, indicating the technology's potential for advanced respiratory monitoring in healthcare.
Researchers plan to test the method on more patients and across different care levels, and within five years, they hope to conduct trials on real patients with impaired lung function and monitor them over longer periods. The specific wireless technology used, such as RFID or Bluetooth, has not been disclosed, and its accuracy compared to current image-based methods like X-rays remains unclear. Additionally, the costs of implementing this technology in healthcare settings and the number of patients tested so far, including specific conditions involved, are unknown, while potential privacy or data security concerns with continuous home monitoring have not been addressed.