OptiMuscle - Design and questionnaire studies - v1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
OptiMuscle: Improving outcomes in dysfunctional breathing through the optimization of muscle function - Design and questionnaire studies
IRAS ID
304267
Contact name
Andrea Taylor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The Glasgow School of Art
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The research is part of a larger project aimed at developing a new intervention to support people with dysfunctional breathing. People with this condition experience breathlessness and difficulty breathing. To develop this intervention, we will create software which visualizes breathing muscle in real-time. The software will use a personalized digital avatar (3D animation) to provide patients with a window into their body, allowing them to understand what is happening when they breathe and how they need to change the way their breathing muscles work in order to improve their condition. The research comprises a Design study and a Questionnaire study. The results of these studies will inform the larger project.
Design study: Twelve participants with dysfunctional breathing will be invited to take part in a series of group sessions to: understand participants’ experiences of dysfunctional breathing; explore and generate design ideas for the intervention e.g. the visual appearance of the avatar; and critically reflect on the intervention as it is developed. The sessions will take place over approximately 10 months, both face-to-face at The Glasgow School of Art in Glasgow, and online using videoconferencing.
Questionnaire study: Two hundred participants with dysfunctional breathing will be invited to complete questionnaires that will help the research team to gain a better understanding of perceptions of the condition, experiences of living with it and ways of coping. This information will help to inform the treatment plan.
This study has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
Summary of Results:
The title of the research is OptiMuscle: Improving outcomes in dysfunctional breathing through the optimization of muscle function – Design and questionnaire studies. The research was carried out by The Glasgow School of Art (sponsor), University of Stirling and University of Plymouth, and was funded by UKRI. The research was part of a larger study that was led by University of Salford. This larger study is developing a new digital health system for the clinical management of dysfunctional breathing. The larger study is still in progress.Dysfunctional breathing affects roughly 10% of the UK population with roughly similar estimations worldwide. People who struggle to breathe are often treated with simple breathing exercises. Our new digital health system uses an avatar to provide visual and auditory feedback on a patient’s breathing, with the aim to better support breathing retraining in a clinic setting. The research summarized here comprised two studies – the design study and the questionnaire study – that contributed to the larger study.
The design study used a participatory design approach, which actively involves the people who are being served through design in the process, recognizing that they are the experts of their own experience and that their contributions are essential for finding solutions to problems. Ten people with a diagnosis of dysfunctional breathing took part in five group meetings. These meetings took place in-person during 2022–23, in the city of Glasgow (UK). Participants discussed their experiences of dysfunctional breathing, contributed ideas for the visual and auditory design of the avatar, and provided on-going feedback on the system as it was developed. We are immensely thankful to our study participants for their support and commitment.
The questionnaire study explored individuals’ perceptions of dysfunctional breathing including their beliefs about any causes of the illness, controllability and consequences. We also measured anxiety, depression and impact on daily living.
The results of the design study are as follows. Findings from the meetings with participants were translated into design recommendations for the visual design of the avatar and shared with the University of Salford team for implementation where feasible. We developed several methods to map data from breathing sensors (motion capture) onto the parameters of sound synthesisers and music systems, intending to develop ways for users to ‘hear’ the data. We found it challenging to establish a method that satisfied all conditions and users. Some participants were expecting to hear music in a certain style (e.g., jazz), yet others expected to hear simpler sounds (e.g., a single sound varying in pitch). A few participants expressed that they would not wish to hear any sounds at all. We concluded that the best practice is to experiment with various methods and deploy them, or not, according to different scenarios. The results indicated that people struggled with understanding how the diaphragm could be re-trained and often experienced difficulties in remembering and feeling capable of the exercises at times of stress, when the breathing retraining exercises may be of particular benefit. Participants explored how the avatar might be able to address these specific barriers and thereby increase capacity to self-manage the condition.
The results of the questionnaire study are as follows. People with dysfunctional breathing experience negative perceptions about the illness. We examined the relationship between the variables of mood and illness perception and detected that those with stronger negative beliefs about the illness also experienced poorer mood. Interventions designed to target the beliefs may also be able to improve mood.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 1 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/EM/0238
Date of REC Opinion
8 Nov 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion