Hu Tiehan, Zhang Xianbin, Millham Richard C, Xu Lin, Wu Wanqing
School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China.
Department of Information Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban 4001, South Africa.
Sensors (Basel). 2025 Jan 24;25(3):690. doi: 10.3390/s25030690.
Cardiovascular diseases pose a significant threat to global health, and cardiac rehabilitation (CR) has become a critical component of patient care. Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback (HRVB) is a non-invasive approach that helps modulate the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) through Resonance Frequency (RF) breathing, supporting CR for cardiovascular patients. However, traditional HRVB techniques rely heavily on manual RF selection and face-to-face guidance, limiting their widespread application, particularly in home-based CR. To address these limitations, we propose a remote human-computer collaborative HRVB system, "FreeResp", which features autonomous RF adjustment through a simplified cognitive computational model, eliminating the reliance on therapists. Furthermore, the system integrates wearable technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) to support remote monitoring and personalized interventions. By incorporating tactile guidance technology with an airbag, the system assists patients in performing diaphragmatic breathing more effectively. FreeResp demonstrated high consistency with conventional HRVB methods in determining RF values (22/24) from 24 valid training samples. Moreover, a one-month home-based RF breathing training using FreeResp showed significant improvements in Heart Rate Variability (HRV) ( < 0.05). These findings suggest that FreeResp is a promising solution for home-based CR, offering timely and precise interventions and providing a new approach to long-term cardiovascular health management.
心血管疾病对全球健康构成重大威胁，心脏康复（CR）已成为患者护理的关键组成部分。心率变异性生物反馈（HRVB）是一种非侵入性方法，通过共振频率（RF）呼吸帮助调节自主神经系统（ANS），支持心血管疾病患者的心脏康复。然而，传统的HRVB技术严重依赖手动选择RF和面对面指导，限制了它们的广泛应用，尤其是在家庭心脏康复中。为了解决这些限制，我们提出了一种远程人机协作的HRVB系统“FreeResp”，它通过简化的认知计算模型实现自主RF调整，消除了对治疗师的依赖。此外，该系统集成了可穿戴技术和物联网（IoT）以支持远程监测和个性化干预。通过将触觉引导技术与安全气囊相结合，该系统帮助患者更有效地进行膈肌呼吸。在从24个有效训练样本中确定RF值时，FreeResp与传统HRVB方法表现出高度一致性（22/24）。此外，使用FreeResp进行的为期一个月的家庭RF呼吸训练显示心率变异性（HRV）有显著改善（<0.05）。这些发现表明，FreeResp是家庭心脏康复的一个有前景的解决方案，提供及时和精确的干预，并为长期心血管健康管理提供了一种新方法。
