Preliminary Assessment of a Flexible Multi-Sensor Wearable System Based on Fiber Bragg Gratings for Respiratory Monitoring of Hemiplegic Patients

Respiratory diseases are common in post-stroke hemiplegic patients and represent a major social problem as they worsen the quality of life and reduce the life span. As a consequence, being able to monitor respiratory parameters such as the respiratory rate (RR) and assess the presence of respiratory asynchronies could be of paramount importance to define hemiplegics’ health status. Moreover, RR is a useful parameter to investigate the level of fatigue and distress that these patients undergo during rehabilitation processes. Although motion capture systems and flowmeters are the leading instruments for respiratory pattern evaluation, smart wearable systems are gaining ever more acceptance since they allow continuous monitoring by detecting chest wall breathing displacements, ensuring reduced costs and no need for dedicated spaces. Among other sensing technologies, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors have emerged thanks to their high sensitivity to strain, lightness, and multiplexing capability. In this work, a wearable system composed of four flexible dumbbell-shaped sensing modules is proposed for respiratory monitoring in hemiplegic patients. The system is light and easy to wear and can be adapted to any anthropometry thanks to the modular anchoring system. Its feasibility assessment in RR evaluation was performed on seven hemiplegic volunteers in eupnea and tachypnea breathing conditions. In addition, an explorative investigation was conducted to assess the system’s ability to detect asynchronies between torso compartments. The good results suggest that this device could be a useful instrument to support clinicians and operators in hemiplegic patients’ management.