Lecturer Tashiro of Kobe Gakuin University Develops and Releases 'Respi Checker', a Smartphone App that Visualizes Respiratory Function

Lecturer Daisuke Tashiro of the Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Kobe Gakuin University, has developed 'Respi Checker,' an app that can easily measure and visualize respiratory function using a smartphone, and has released it on the AppStore.

Click here to download: https://apps.apple.com/jp/app/respi-checker/id6753862654

This app provides a new evaluation method that quantifies breathing status by measuring abdominal movement utilizing the smartphone's built-in sensor (gyro sensor). Traditionally, evaluating respiratory function required specialized equipment like a spirometer, but this app makes measurement possible simply by placing a smartphone against the abdomen, allowing anyone to easily check their breathing status.

■ Background of Development
In recent years, 'shallow breathing' due to stress and changes in lifestyle habits has become viewed as a problem, yet the means to objectively understand one's respiratory function in daily life have been limited.

Lecturer Tashiro has been conducting research on respiratory rehabilitation and abdominal movement (abdominal elevation volume), and aiming to realize 'a system that can evaluate breathing without specialized equipment' based on those findings, he led the development of this app.

Furthermore, in developing this app, basic data collection and analysis were conducted together with seminar students over the past four years, and it was designed and built based on those research results.

■ Features of the App
- A simple measurement method of merely placing the smartphone on the abdomen
- Quantifies respiratory function from abdominal elevation volume and contraction speed
- Estimates indices related to Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) and Slow Vital Capacity (SVC)
- Provides feedback on measurement results and visualizes chronological changes
- Equipped with breathing training functions (1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes)

This app can be utilized not only for self-checking respiratory function but also for supporting continuous breathing training.

■ Expected Fields of Application
- Evaluation and training support in medicine and rehabilitation
- Home medical care and community rehabilitation
- Condition management of employees in health and productivity management
- Biofeedback in yoga and breathing technique training

■ Future Prospects
Currently, we are proceeding with verification of the reliability and validity regarding the measurement accuracy of this app, and we plan further functional expansions in the future, such as integration with wearable devices and the establishment of reference values.
A PR video for this app is uploaded on YouTube.