Movesense HR+ sensor excels in ECG monitoring in high-intensity training

In a study published on Sensors on Sep 2, 2024, researchers from the Universities of Otago, Auckland and the Vrije University of Amsterdam investigated the accuracy of the ECG monitoring of the Movesense HR+ sensor in high-intensity training. We are proud to share the excellent results!

‘Our results indicate the promising potential of Movesense HR+ ECG as a viable alternative for accurate ECG data recording during both rest and exercise. The consistently high sensitivity and precision values obtained across all participants and activities underscore the Movesense HR+’s capacity to serve as a cost-effective and user-friendly tool for both research and individual use.’

Introduction

With its low cost, portability, and accurate physiological measurements, Movesense HR+ sensor is an attractive tool for coaches, athletes, and practitioners. To pave way for such use of the Movesense HR+, the study aimed at establishing the validity and reliability of its ECG measurements compared to the criterion three-lead ECG, and testing the Garmin HRM Pro chest strap, during rest and high-intensity running and cycling.

Summary of the study protocol & data analysis

In the study, twenty-one healthy adults participated in running and cycling incremental test protocols to exhaustion, both with rest before and after. They wore Movesense HR+, Garmin HRM Pro and the reference 3-lead ECG system Powerlab from ADInstruments.

The team developed their own tools for collecting and analyzing Movesense data. The FreeLab and GetLabData Android applications are freely available for all Movesense users. We will introduce these innovative, free analysis tools for Movesense sensors in another blog post.

Figure 2. Comparative analysis of RR’ interval samples for one participant. (a) Activity 1 (resting), Movesense HR+ vs. 3-lead; (b) Activity 2 (incremental test), Movesense HR+ vs. criterion; (c) Activity 1 (resting), Garmin HRM-Pro vs. criterion; (d) Activity 2, Garmin HRM-Pro vs. criterion. Data for the same participant, activity and time are shown in (a) and (c) and in (b) and (d), respectively.

Results: Highly accurate RR interval detection

Movesense HR+ demonstrated consistent and accurate R-peak detection, with an overall sensitivity of 99.7% and precision of 99.6% compared to the reference 3-lead ECG monitor. Garmin HRM Pro reached sensitivity and precision of 84.7% and 87.7%, respectively.

The results demonstrated excellent agreement between the RR intervals obtained from Movesense HR+ ECG and the three-lead ECG. In particular, the accuracy exhibited during the most intense phase of the exercise in the incremental test was very high. In contrast, Garmin, while initially matching the criterion RR results at the beginning of the test, showed errors in RR intervals during the higher-intensity phases.

Figure 3. Bland-Altman plots of RR’ intervals derived from the detected peaks using Movesense HR+ and criterion for (a) Activity 1, initial 5 min rest; (b) Activity 2, incremental test; (c) Activity 3, final 5 min rest; and Bland-Altman plots of Garmin HRM-Pro RR’ vs. 3-lead RR’ intervals for (d) Activity 1, (e) Activity 2, and (f) Activity 3. An alpha value of 0.3 was applied to the plots (blue dots) to reduce the effect of over-plotting. Please note the different scaling on the Y-axis.

Conclusions

The high level of accuracy proves the effectiveness of Movesense HR+ sensor ECG monitoring capabilities –  the sensor is able to collect high-quality data also during high-intensity training.

The first author of the article, Raúl Martin Gomez of University of Otago, Dunedin, summarizes:

— Our results indicate the promising potential of Movesense HR+ ECG as a viable alternative for accurate ECG data recording during both rest and exercise. The consistently high sensitivity and precision values obtained across all participants and activities underscore the Movesense HR+’s capacity to serve as a cost-effective and user-friendly tool for both research and individual use.

— The wearability and relatively low cost of the sensor are particularly important for various applications, including field research and coaching, where easy-to-use, portable devices that can maintain data accuracy are essential. Moreover, portable BLE devices can help transition research from controlled lab environments to real-world settings, improving the reliability and applicability of metrics obtained, Gomez points out.

Movesense MD for medical purposes

Even though Movesense HR+ sensor is found highly accurate in this study for detecting R-peaks and RR intervals in sports, it is not certified for clinical use. The ECG bandwidth of Movesense HR+ is optimized for physical activity and doesn’t meet the requirements for a medical ECG. The measured ECG signal, even though it allows accurate R-peak detection, does not have the level of detail of a medical ECG device.

However, the good news is that the sister model of Movesense HR+, Movesense MD sensor, is certified as a Class IIa medical device (EU MDR) and is approved for clinical use. Also worth noting is another member of the Movesense sensor family, the Movesense HR2. It’s even more affordable than the HR+, but offers exactly the same high-precision ECG and motion measurement capabilities.

References:

Martín Gómez R, Allevard E, Kamstra H, Cotter J, Lamb P. Validity and Reliability of Movesense HR+ ECG Measurements for High-Intensity Running and Cycling. Sensors. 2024; 24(17):5713. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24175713