title: Development of a clinical applicable graphical user interface to automatically detect exercise oscillatory ventilation: The VOdEX-tool.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) gained importance in the prognostic assessment of especially patients with heart failure (HF). A meaningful prognostic parameter for early mortality in HF is exercise oscillatory ventilation (EOV). This abnormal respiratory pattern is recognized by hypo- and hyperventilation during CPET. Up until now, assessment of EOV is mainly done upon visual agreement or manual calculation. The purpose of this research was to automate the interpretation of EOV so this prognostic parameter could be readily investigated during CPET.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Preliminary, four definitions describing the original characteristics of EOV, were selected and integrated in the "Ventilatory Oscillations during Exercise-tool" (VOdEX-tool), a graphical user interface that allows automate calculation of EOV. A Discrete Meyer Level 2 wavelet transformation appeared to be the optimal filter to apply on the collected breath-by-breath minute ventilation CPET data. Divers aspects of the definitions i.e. cycle length, amplitude, regularity and total duration of EOV were combined and calculated. The oscillations meeting the criteria were visualised. Filter methods and cut-off criteria were made adjustable for clinical application and research. The VOdEX-tool was connected to a database.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The VOdEX-tool provides the possibility to calculate EOV automatically and to present the clinician an overview of the presence of EOV at a glance. The computerized analysis of EOV can be made readily available in clinical practice by integrating the tool in the manufactures existing CPET software. The VOdEX-tool enhances assessment of EOV and therefore contributes to the estimation of prognosis in especially patients with HF.
authors.affiliation: University of Antwerp (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences), Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Universiteitsplein 1, CDE S0.22, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium. Electronic address: Justien.Cornelis@uantwerpen.be.
authors.forename: Justien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cornelis
authors.affiliation: University of Antwerp (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences), Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Universiteitsplein 1, CDE S0.22, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; University of Antwerp (Faculty of Applied Engineering), Constrained Systems Lab (CoSys-Lab), Prinsstraat 13, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Denis
authors.affiliation: University of Antwerp (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences), Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Universiteitsplein 1, CDE S0.22, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; Antwerp University Hospital (Department of Cardiology), Wilrijkstraat 10, B-2650 Edegem, Belgium; University of Antwerp (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences), Department of Medicine, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Beckers
authors.affiliation: Antwerp University Hospital (Department of Cardiology), Wilrijkstraat 10, B-2650 Edegem, Belgium; University of Antwerp (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences), Department of Medicine, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Christiaan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vrints
authors.affiliation: University of Antwerp (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences), Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Physiotherapy, Universiteitsplein 1, CDE S0.22, B-2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vissers
authors.affiliation: University of Antwerp (Faculty of Applied Engineering), Constrained Systems Lab (CoSys-Lab), Prinsstraat 13, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Maggy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goossens
mesh_terms: D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D000067896:Industrial Development / Q000639:trends*; D000075082:Proof of Concept Study; D012123:Pulmonary Ventilation / Q000502:physiology*; D014584:User-Computer Interface
keywords: Exercise; Heart failure; Oscillatory ventilation; Wavelet analysis