Is the Tyme Wear Smart Shirt Reliable and Valid at Detecting Personalized Ventilatory Thresholds in Recreationally Active Individuals?

The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which the Tyme Wear smart shirt is as reliable and valid in detecting personalized ventilatory thresholds when compared to the Parvo Medics TrueOne 2400. In this validation study, 19 subjects were recruited to conduct two graded exercise test (GXT) trials. Each GXT trial was separated by 7 to 10 days of rest. During the GXT, gas exchange and heart rate data were collected by the TrueOne 2400 (TRUE) in addition to the ventilation data collected by the Tyme Wear smart shirt (S-PRED). Gas exchange data from TRUE were used to detect ventilatory threshold 1 (VT1) and ventilatory threshold 2 (VT2). TRUE and S-PRED VT1 and VT2 were compared to determine the reliability and validity of the smart shirt. Of the 19 subjects, data from 15 subjects were used during analysis. S-PRED exhibited excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient—CC > 0.90) reliability for detection of VT1 and VT2 utilizing time point and workload and moderate (0.90 > ICC > 0.75) reliability utilizing heart rate. TRUE exhibited excellent reliability for detection of VT1 and VT2 utilizing time point, workload, and heart rate. When compared to TRUE, S-PRED appears to underestimate the VT1 workload (p > 0.05) across both trials and heart rate (p < 0.05) for trial 1. However, S-PRED appears to underestimate VT2 workload (p < 0.05) and heart rate (p < 0.05) across both trials. The result from this study suggests that the Tyme Wear smart shirt is less valid but is comparable in reliability when compared to the gold standard. Moreover, despite the underestimation of S-PRED VT1 and VT2, the S-PRED-detected personalized ventilatory thresholds provide an adequate training workload for most individuals. In conclusion, the Tyme Wear smart shirt provides easily accessible testing to establish threshold-guided training zones but does not devalue the long-standing laboratory equivalent.