Evaluation of Wearable Vest for Lung Monitoring

Overview

This was the pilot study of the EU funded research and innovation project WELMO (Wearable Electronics for Effective Lung Monitoring) -Grant agreement number: 825572. The clinical trial involved patients suffering from a variety of respiratory pathological conditions and examined the ease-of-use and efficacy of the WELMO system, comprising a sensors vest for thorax auscultation and recording of Electric Impedance Tomography (EIT) signals and transmitting those on the cloud for review by physicians. The study recruited and briefly monitored 27 patients who underwent brief training and subsequent wearing of the sensors vest for 15-20 minutes, after manual auscultation, spirometry and oximetry. The collected data were transmitted wirelessly to a tablet and then securely to the cloud for review by attending physicians. The usability of the system, the quality of the obtained signals and the validity of the results were evaluated.

The study recruited and briefly monitored 27 patients at the outpatient department and the medical ward of the Pulmonology Department of "G. Papanikolaou" General Hospital of Thessaloniki, Greece, as well as the 1st Intensive Care Unit of the same Hospital. Patients were recruited during their hospitalization or at the outpatient setting and informed consent was obtained before participation. They were examined with spirometry, manual auscultation of the thorax and where necessary, with chest X-ray or CT scan. They wore the WELMO sensors vest for a period of 15-20 minutes during which they performed tidal and deep breathing, cough and spirometry maneuvers and changes of posture. At the end of the study, they were requested to fill in a questionnaire about comfort and usability of the vest. Patients from various thoracic disease categories were included from both sexes and aged 18-90 years. The study was approved by the bioethics committee of the Hospital and personal data protection provisions were in place. The obtained signals (lung sounds and EIT signals) were examined for consistency with conventionally obtained medical data and the usability, comfort, patient acceptance and practicality of the WELMO vest was assessed.