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EP-4452061-B1 - PORTABLE SYSTEM FOR PROGRESSIVE AEROBIC CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE RUN TEST AND METHOD THEREOF

EP4452061B1EP 4452061 B1EP4452061 B1EP 4452061B1EP-4452061-B1

Inventors

  • FERNANDES LOPES, Sérgio Ivan
  • RODRIGUES, Luís Paulo
  • DE OLIVEIRA PASSOS, João Miguel
  • CLEMENTE, Filipe
  • BEZERRA, José Pedro
  • DO VALE MOREIRA, Pedro Miguel

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20221129

Claims (15)

  1. Portable system for the progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance run test of a subject, comprising: an interface (201) configured for receiving input data from a user, sending instructions to a controller, and displaying data; a controller (205) configured for receiving instructions from the interface (201), controlling a plurality of light emitters, and sending data to the interface (201); and, a variable length strip defining a length of the running path and connected to the controller (205) comprising a plurality of light emitters (206) for emitting a light signal to the subject; wherein the variable length strip is rolled up in a coil; wherein the input data are test parameters of the progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance run test and lap counts at each stage, wherein the light signal is a light pattern that, at a pre-determined pace, changes a state of a light emitter in the sequence of the running direction; wherein the test parameters are chosen from the following list: duration of the test, pre-determined pace to be met, number of subjects running, length of the test.
  2. Portable system according to the previous claims wherein the state of a light is one of the following: on/off state, light intensity, blinking frequency, colour of the light emitter, or a combination of these states.
  3. Portable system according to any of the previous claims wherein the variable length strip which comprises a plurality of light emitters (206) is a strip of LED lights, preferably wherein a light signal is defined as about 1 meter of light-signalling LEDs which are, at the pre-determined pace and in the direction of running, temporarily and sequentially turned on.
  4. Portable system according to the previous claims wherein the interface (201) is an electronic portable equipment such as: mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, laptop.
  5. Portable system according to any of the previous claims wherein the controller (205) and the interface (201) communicate via a wireless connection, preferably the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol, or Wi-Fi if BLE is not available.
  6. Portable system according to any of the previous claims wherein the controller (205) is a microcontroller unit with integrated Wi-Fi and BLE connectivity.
  7. Portable system according to any of the previous claims further comprising a sound emitter (204) configured for receiving instructions from the controller and emitting an audio signal to the subject, preferably wherein the sound emitter (204) comprises a loudspeaker, speaker, sound column, passive buzzer, piezo-tweeter, or a set of wirelessly connected headphones, headset, earphones, earbuds, or similar electronic equipment.
  8. Portable system according to the previous claim wherein a sound signal is a "Beep", an alarm, or a voice signal.
  9. Portable system according to any of the previous claims wherein the controller receives an instruction from more than one interface (201).
  10. Portable system according to any of the previous claims further comprising a microphone configured to synchronize the start of the test when receiving an external sound signal.
  11. Method of operation of the portable system according to any of the previous claims for perform progressive an aerobic cardiovascular endurance run test of a subject comprising the steps: receiving the test parameters of the progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance run test from a user in an interface (201) and sending them to a controller (205); initializing the light emitters (206) upon receiving said test parameters by said controller (205); receiving a start test instruction from a user in said interface (201) and sending it to a controller (205); emitting a light signal pattern at an initial pre-determined pace, and increasing the pace of said light signal pattern at each stage according to said test parameters by controller (205); receiving lap counts of each subject being tested by a user in the interface (201), and giving a warning light when a subject fails to finish the stage for the first time; ending a subject test when fails to finish the stage for the second time; sending an end test instruction when the last subject fails to finish the stage for the second time from the interface (201) to the controller (205); turning off the light emitters (206); calculating the maximum aerobic capacity of each subject.
  12. Method of operation of the portable system according to the previous claim comprising: initializing the light emitters and sound emitters (204); emitting a sound signal upon receiving a start test instruction from a user; emitting an audio signal when a subject fails to finish the stage; turning off the light emitters and the sound emitters.
  13. Method of operation of the portable system according to claims 11-12 wherein the start test instruction is an external sound signal, such as a whistle, a clap, or a starter pistol sound, received by a microphone.
  14. Computer program comprising instructions, which when the program is executed by a the portable system according to any of the claims 1-10, causes the computer to perform the method of any of the claims 11-13.
  15. Computer-readable medium storing the computer program of the previous claim.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a portable system for cardio-respiratory fitness assessment, for example, the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) test, and method thereof. BACKGROUND Aerobic capacity tests are recurrently used to determine the maximum oxygen consumption, VO2max, of an individual. The VO2max expresses the maximum aerobic capacity and is considered the best cardio-respiratory fitness index. A widely used test to estimate an athlete's aerobic capacity is the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) test. This test consists of a shuttle race at a stage of 20 meters under a certain pace that increases in velocity every minute. Regarding the validity and reliability of the results obtained in the PACER test for the maximum volume of oxygen, the authors in [1] concluded that the 20-meter version of the PACER test showed positive results in the above-mentioned criteria for both children and adults. The authors in [2] obtained identical results, with a slight difference in the results obtained in adults. Regarding the testing of children, several studies [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] on young people and children have stated that the PACER test is a reliable way to evaluate maximum aerobic capacity, taking into consideration the effort made by them and the motivation to perform the test. Regarding the PACER methods, in a school context, the space required for the test can be a conditioning factor. Authors in [8] concluded that both versions of the test (15 and 20 meters) provide similar results, recommending the 20-meter version. When comparing the results obtained between a treadmill test and the PACER test, authors in [9] claim that the results were quite similar, although for young males there was a slight difference in the treadmill test. When comparing the different equations used to obtain the maximum aerobic capacity, the authors in [10] carried out a comparative study on four equations and concluded that all can be clinically used to estimate the maximum VO2 in children. The authors in [11] observed a minimal improvement in accuracy when adding the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a predictor, having concluded that the model with PACER and age as predictors has a high level of utility for fitness assessment of young people. Regarding the implementation of physical tests, there are two main technologies used, radiofrequency identification (RFID) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). RFID is applied to sports, such as in marathons, soccer or even in gyms where a bracelet allows a device to read the athlete's identification and configure a specific test previously established, thus mitigating human error. The article [12] is about a device that was developed to autonomously count laps during the PACER test. On this device, antennas are placed at the ends of the stage so that when the athlete reaches each one of them, a reader captures the identification of the athlete and checks if he/she complies with the established time. BLE is a low power wireless technology that is widely used on the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem. The associated protocol is designed to allow networked devices to transmit bursts of data consuming a small amount of energy, allowing devices to operate under the power of a coin cell battery and run for an order of magnitude of years. Although this protocol has numerous advantages, when used for large data transmissions the low-power criterion tends to fade. Another important criterion to take into account is security, which, although the protocol itself already provides some protection measures, in a network of exposed sensors it may be not enough [13]. BLE can be deployed in several applications in the fitness field, such as devices for cardiorespiratory monitoring which use this protocol for personal area communications, enabling real-time data visualization in a mobile device. An example of this is the study done in [14], where the authors besides introducing, explaining, and comparing with the classic Bluetooth technology, also developed a prototype of heart rate monitoring in real-time. The FitnessGram® PACER test [17] is a program created by The Cooper Institute® to measure the maximum aerobic capacity of a student. It contains the audio that will guide students through the test, along with other resources such as scoresheets and instructions. All measurements have to be made manually and can be inserted later in a provided software. To implement the test, besides the audio CD that will create the auditory stimuli, other accessories are needed to delimit the test area. During this test, some students may not have an effective perception of the pace that is imposed, especially when the test is performed in groups or in a noisy location, thereby impacting the obtained results. The PACER for Schools [15]: PACER for Schools is a mobile application that can be acquired for free from an application store like Google PlayStore™. It allows the