Design and development of a novel wearable system for thoraco-abdominal respiratory telerehabilitation applications

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, necessitating innovative rehabilitation strategies to improve patient outcomes. This thesis, based on an internship done in the company Khymeia, presents the design and development of a novel wearable system, within the Respiraction project, aimed at supporting thoraco-abdominal respiratory telerehabilitation for COPD patients. The system consists of two elastic bands embedded with extensometer sensors, capable of capturing real-time respiratory movements of the chest and abdomen. The device is designed with the aim to guide breathing exercises enhanced through exergaming. By incorporating gamification elements such as visual cues, performance scores, and adaptive difficulty levels, the system aims to increase patient engagement and adherence to rehabilitation protocols. Data transmission is achieved via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 5.0, ensuring low-latency and power-efficient connectivity to external systems for monitoring and feedback. Initial prototype testing demonstrated the device's capability to differentiate between various respiratory patterns, including normal, thoracic, and abdominal breathing, as well as breath-holding sequences. The results confirmed the feasibility of using extensometer sensors for respiratory monitoring, showing strong potential for future clinical validation and refinement. Future developments will focus on designing and developing rehabilitation exercises, optimizing hardware miniaturization, enhancing signal processing algorithms and integrating feedback driven mechanisms to personalize rehabilitation plans. By leveraging wearable technology and gamified telerehabilitation, this work contributes to the advancement of digital health solutions for COPD management, paving the way for more accessible, engaging, and effective respiratory rehabilitation methodologies.