Exercit@rt mobile: Monitoring of pulmonar rehabilitation in COPD

Abstract

With the emergence of new types of eHealth and mHealth solutions there are new opportunities for the development of new tracking and monitoring approaches for chronic diseases, including COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), a condition in which respiratory exercises and daily physical activities are of most importance. In the footsteps of other previous research projects, the mobile Exercit@rt mobile app was developed in partnership with the School of Health Sciences at the University of Aveiro. It allows real time monitoring, through the use of a Bluetooth oximeter, of heart rate and oxygen saturation levels in COPD patients. With this application, patients can perform, monitor, geolocate and evaluate different respiratory exercises as well some common daily physical activities. In addition, this research project incorporated a validation stage involving ten patients with respiratory disorders diseases — five smartphone's frequent users (SFU) and five smartphone's non-frequent users (SNFU). The main results showed that all the participants recognized the usefulness of monitoring their disease using Exercit@rt mobile app.