Wearable Influence on Breathing Pattern Measured by Unrestricted Barometric Plethysmography in Wistar Rats

This study aimed to evaluate and to describe the influence of a commercial chest vest that may have influence on Wistar rodents’ respiratory pattern. Such wearables can be used under current conditions in sets of remote monitoring devices in animals with different models of diseases, both in specific terms and in the context of integrated telehealth and the Internet of Things (IOT). We assessed the respiratory frequency of the animals with and without the wearable using unrestricted whole-body plethysmography (WBP) on three consecutive days of analysis. WBP is a non-invasive technique for measuring lung function that uses well-defined concepts of lung mechanics and allows serial and prolonged recording parameters, in an environment where the animal can perform daily activities, such as eating and sleeping. Our results showed that the commercial wearable altered the respiratory pattern of the animals. It seems that is necessary to develop a customized wearable that would reduce such influence, in order to improve future studies using biosensors.