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. 2012 Dec 1;11(4):643-52.
eCollection 2012.

Field based reliability and validity of the bioharness™ multivariable monitoring device

James A Johnstone  1 , Paul A Ford, Gerwyn Hughes, Tim Watson, Andrew C S Mitchell, Andrew T Garrett
Affiliations

Field based reliability and validity of the bioharness™ multivariable monitoring device

James A Johnstone et al. J Sports Sci Med. .

Abstract

The Bioharness™ device is designed for monitoring physiological variables in free-living situations but has only been proven to be reliable and valid in a laboratory environment. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the reliability and validity of the Bioharness™ using a field based protocol. Twenty healthy males participated. Heart rate (HR), breathing frequency (BF) and accelerometry (ACC) were assessed by simultaneous measurement of two Bioharness™ devices and a test-retest of a discontinuous incremental walk-jog-run protocol (4 - 11 km·h(-1)) completed in a sports hall. Adopted precision of measurement devices were; HR: Polar T31 (Polar Electro), BF: Spirometer (Cortex Metalyser), ACC: Oxygen expenditure (Cortex Metalyser). For all data, precision of measurement reported good relationships (r = 0.61 to 0.67, p < 0.01) and large Limits of Agreement for HR (>79.2 b·min(-1)) and BF (>54.7 br·min(-1)). ACC presented excellent precision (r = 0.94, p < 0.01). Results for HR (r= ~0.91, p < 0.01: CV <7.6) and ACC (r > 0.97, p < 0.01; CV <14.7) suggested these variables are reliable. BF presented more variable data (r = 0.46-0.61, p < 0.01; CV < 23.7). As velocity of movement increased (>8 km·h(-1)) data became more erroneous. A data cleaning protocol removed gross errors in the data analysis and subsequent reliability and validity statistics improved across all variables. In conclusion, the Bioharness™ HR and ACC variables have demonstrated reliability and validity in a field setting, though data collected at higher velocities should be treated with caution. Measuring human physiological responses in a field based environment allows for more ecologically valid data to be collected and devices such as the Bioharness™ could be used by exercise professionals to begin to further investigate this area.

Keywords: Multi-variable; ecological validity; new technology; physiological monitoring.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Profile of HR and BF data removal (%) at different velocities during data cleaning process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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