Advancing tele-physiology: A chest patch solution for continuous, non-invasive remote monitoring in a hypoxic environment

Skin-mounted sensors are thin, flexible and lightweight electronic devices that enable monitoring of multiple physiological parameters. The aim of this study was to provide pilot evidence for possible utilization of a sensorized patch for capturing the bodily response to hypoxia. The subsequent phases of the study comprised a case report and a case series, with participants undergoing physical tests in both normobaric normoxia and hypoxia. The data obtained from VitalPatch® were compared with data from the metabolic cart COSMED Quark CPET. In the case report, agreement was substantial for heart rate (HR) and poor for respiratory rate (RR) in an incremental normoxic test, and almost perfect for HR and moderate for RR in a time-to-exhaustion hypoxic test; in the case series, agreement was substantial for HR and poor for RR. The trend of values generally was almost superimposable and mean bias was overall acceptable. ECG alarms were considered mostly false or highly uncertain, possibly due to noise and artifacts. The quality of the recording was unaffected by the presence of hypoxia. VitalPatch® is best used at rest and in minimal movement, offering reliable HR and RR monitoring.