Design considerations for inspiratory muscle training systems

Abstract Inspiratory muscle training can be used to strengthen the muscles employed when breathing in. This has been shown to benefit the exercise performance of a diverse group of users including elite sports people. Unfortunately, existing training devices do not provide an optimum training stimulus. The principal limitations of current devices are that they can only be used statically, i.e. not during exercise, and that the load they provide does not reflect the force generating capacity of the targeted muscle group. These limitations could be overcome if an ambulatory responsive loading technology were developed. Ambulatory training would allow users to ‘wear’ the training device while performing exercise, thereby ensuring that improvements to breathing are functionally relevant to the particular demands of a given sport or task. Responsive loading would ensure that the load applied to the inspiratory muscles is specific to the force-generating capacity of the inspiratory muscles during exercise. The purpose of the present project was to explore the feasibility of ambulatory responsive inspiratory muscle training. A series of potential design solutions were identified. This paper describes the design and development process undertaken and draws conclusions regarding the feasibility of ambulatory responsive inspiratory muscle training.