Showing posts with label Wireless. Show all posts
Wireless | Testing VO2 Max
Cardiovascular tests during a self-paced maximal exercise protocol (SPV) continually scored high ratings of VO2 max when compared to more traditional procedures. Jenkins et. al sought to understand the underlying causes of this increase in VO2 max by testing SPV versus the more regimented RAMP method. They sought to explore the results through extensive physiological measurement, as well as testing difference in older and younger age groups, while participants completed physical experiments.
The SPV protocol was completed on an air-braked cycle ergometer, which allowed participants to continually vary their Power Output (PO) throughout the test. An electro-magnetically braked cycle ergometer was used for the RAMP protocol, so that PO was fixed for each stage of the incremental RAMP protocol.
VO2 Max is essentially the maximum amount of oxygen utilized during a workout. Forty-four (44) male and female participants completed the experiment, half aged between 18- 30 and half between 50-75. The participants completed each test over a multi-day period. The tests were exhaustive, requiring subjects to cycle in place until they couldn’t any longer.
Jenkins et. al recorded various physiological signals including NIRS, breathing/expired gases, cardiac output/ stroke volume, blood lactate, and electromyography (EMG). BIOPAC’s BioNomadix research acquisition system wirelessly transmitted EMG data using two electrodes placed on participants’ right leg while they completed physical tasks.
Researchers were able find differences in the interaction effects of EMG between the two test protocols in the older group. The results complied with previous research, in that SPV allowed a higher VO2 max compared RAMP. Through monitoring physiological measurement, the study results suggested increased oxygen delivery as to an increase in oxygen-muscle extraction. The researchers found that there wasn’t a significance difference between the two testing protocols with the older population, though it’s unclear why. Overall, the experiment provides greater understanding of what causes differences in VO2 max between the two experimental procedures.
Wearable | Pitch Perfect Analysis
Pitch determines the level of influence on listener perception, physiological arousal, attention, and memory, according to new research published in Human Communication Research (June 2017). Professors at the Communication Department and Department of Translation and Language Sciences at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and the Institute for Communication Research at Indiana University conducted the joint study to examine intonation’s impact on interpersonal influence with self-report analyses and memory tests.BIOPAC’s BioNomadix helped the researchers discover the psychophysiological signs of comprehension and autonomic arousal. Physiological data aided the researchers in understanding participant attention, offering an objective analysis of the participant’s experience. Each participant identified as female and listened to both narrative and informative commercials, with varying intonation, while wearing BIOPAC’s technology. The participants' retention and cognitive processing suggest that tone does affect interpersonal influence. Commercials, with a unique level of intonation (or the most varying), proved to have the highest standards of influence. The more varying in pitch or tone, the more likely participants were to process and recall information in the commercials. BIOPAC’s BioNomadix allowed the researchers to record wireless EDA from the participants, capturing electrical responses to communication within participants to improve understandings of effective communication. Specifically, BioNomadix wirelessly recorded response data from a wearable transmitter to measure the arousal and attention of participants by capturing their skin conductance response after exposure to stimuli. This type of research will continue evolving media communication and interpersonal influence systems for anyone interested in effective communication strategies. The study’s breakthrough research offers an incentive for further study into the cognitive processing of audio communication.
Wireless │ Children’s Behavioral Inhibition
RSA is characterized as the rhythmic fluctuations in heart rate associated with the respiratory cycle regulated by the parasympathetic nervous system. In a “basal,” or low-threat situation, RSA slows down the heart to maintain baseline levels. In a “challenge,” or high-threat situation, RSA is suppressed, which results in an increased heart rate and a fight-or-flight response. Thus, a greater control of the parasympathetic nervous system corresponds with high basal RSA (slowed heart rate) and increased adaptability and composure during threatening situations.
In “Children's behavioral inhibition and anxiety disorder symptom severity: The role of individual differences in respiratory sinus arrhythmia ,” an original research article in tech science journal , Behaviour Research and Therapy, Viana, Andres G., et al. explored the ability of RSA to moderate the association between BI and anxiety disorder symptom severity. They investigated RSA response during both a basal situation and challenge situation in the context of clinical anxiety. Participants consisted of forty-four children between the ages of 8 and 12, and their mothers. The first session involved self-report questionnaires and clinical interviews, and the second session involved an experiment with the children in a challenge situation. Using a BIOPAC MP system, the researchers gathered electrocardiogram (ECG) data with a wireless BioNomadix ECG transmitter and receiver. They also measured changes in the subjects’ thoracic circumference with the wireless BioNomadix respiration transducer, and recorded online through AcqKnowledge.
The data collected were analyzed to find RSA mean scores and revealed a positive association between BI and anxiety disorder symptom severity. Children with high levels of BI and low RSA responses to basal and challenge situations were found to have the highest levels of anxiety disorder symptoms. In addition, among children with high RSA responses to basal and challenge situations, the association with BI was non-significant. These findings support the supposition that higher levels of RSA, and ability to control the parasympathetic nervous system, may function to weaken the relationship between BI and anxiety. Thus, higher RSA may be related to an increased ability to regulate psycho-physiological responses and emotion, and act as a buffer against psychopathology.
Wireless │ Neural Effects of Verbal & Nonverbal Communication
Wearable | Visualizing Exercise
Scientists have long used the power of physiological signals to make inferences about cognitive processes. To bridge the gap between physiology and psychology, exercise scientists often find it interesting to look at a person’s encephalographic brain frequencies (EEG) during settings of physical stress, or namely, exercise. Several studies in the past have aimed to evaluate how the mind operates during strenuous training, but what happens when someone just thinks about exercising?
Researchers Berk et al. have recently performed a study in which various athletes were asked to simply sit, close their eyes, and visualize themselves in a state of rest while their brains were monitored for EEG activity. Participants then were asked to visualize themselves in a state of heavy exercise or physical training. The researchers monitored the athletes’ brain EEG signals using a B-Alert X10 Telemetry system. What they found was a significant difference in brain state, primarily shown by the disparity in gamma wave frequency between visualizations of exercise and rest settings. These results suggest that mental visualization of complex physical tasks may support the construction of functional neural networks in the brain necessary for performing them. This study opens the door to subsequent research in order to understand more about the psychology of physical activity. BIOPAC Systems offers the wireless B-Alert X10 EEG system as well as other wearable and wireless solutions for psychophysiological and exercise research. These options include Mobita 32 channel wearable EEG and biopotential systems and the BioNomadix line of wireless biopotential and transducer amplifiers. These products have been consistently proven to provide accurate, reliable data whether the person wearing them is on the field training, or sitting at home just thinking about it.
Wireless | Flow State
Wearable/Wireless | 3D Seismocardiography
Researchers have been investigating the use of a promising, yet not entirely understood technique known as seismocardiography. This method takes advantage of natural vibrations produced by the cardiovascular system by recording with accelerometers, and using obtained data to make inferences about the state of health of the subject. Its use has shown promise as a noninvasive technique to measure heart health in both clinical and ambulatory environments. Researchers Paukkunen et al. have recently studied the three-dimensional vibration patterns of the cardiovascular system in an attempt to quantify them and make connections to the health of their subjects. To supplement their data, the researchers used a BIOPAC ECG amplifier and wireless respiration transducer to gain insight into the cardiovascular health of participants. Data was collected and analyzed from both a group of healthy subjects as well as a group of those affected by atrial flutter. The accelerometer and ECG/Respiration data was analyzed with AcqKnowledge, in an effort to understand more about the 3D vibration patterns and their use as indicators for disease. What the researchers found was that the data did differ significantly between the healthy subjects and those with heart flutter. How the data differed was in the relative location of these vibration events occurring in different parts of the cardiovascular system. By comparing to consistent cardiology data, the researchers were able to produce results that suggested that spatial distribution of seismocardiographic events. BIOPAC Systems offers these solutions and others for cardiology, with products designed for reliable, consistent data acquisition and analysis for wireless and wearable use in a variety of environments. This research sets the stage for further investigation into the potential use of seismocardiography to catch signs of heart disease easily and affordably, providing a new weapon for our long-lasting battle for cardiovascular health.