Determining VO2-max the traditional way

Ergometer cycling or treadmill running are gold standards for determining VO2-max. Various protocols are be used, e.g. increasing load and time intervals until exhaustion with measurement of oxygen consumption during the test. Submaximal testing protocols may be used if the test subject may be at risk. Monitoring the fitness level by VO2-max requires exercise at increasing loads until the test subject changes from aerobic work to anaerobic work and exhaustion. The test includes monitoring of the respiratory gases, making it fairly complex.

The ergometer test itself should not take longer than 12 minutes to perform, but getting the subject ready for the test (changing into sports clothes, warm-up, instructing the subject about the test, and fitting the mask), calibrating the gas-analyser and analysing the results often end up taking more than 20-30 minutes in total.

Determining VO2-max with the Seismofit®

VentriJect has made the process of estimating VO2-max fast and easy. Instead of performing a cycling or treadmill test until exhaustion, the subject needs to relax in a supine position while obtaining the signal. Recording the signal itself takes no more than 45 seconds.

Because our method of estimating VO2-max does not require any physical activity, subjects who are not capable of enduring a maximal or submaximal exercise test can also benefit from our method.

After recording the signal with the Seismofit® Sensor, the signal is analysed by our algorithm, and an estimate of VO2-max is presented to the user. Thus, there is no need to go through the recording manually or analyse anything.