Development and preliminary clinical application of a portable intelligent respiratory training and monitoring system in patients with stable COPD

Background The number of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) continues to rise annually. Respiratory rehabilitation is the recommended first-line non-pharmacological intervention for COPD. Proper respiratory function training in stable COPD patients can improve clinical symptoms, exercise tolerance, and quality of life, and reduce readmission rates. Respiratory training is a core component of respiratory rehabilitation. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a portable intelligent respiratory training system capable of monitoring respiration, heart rate, and respiratory patterns during training, thereby providing accurate, visualized monitoring of training effectiveness and assessing its influence on respiratory function training in COPD patients. Methods A prospective, single-blind, randomized parallel controlled trial was conducted from January to December 2025. A total of 108 patients with stable COPD from the Department of Respiratory Medicine of a tertiary Class A general hospital were enrolled and randomly allocated to an intervention group ( n = 54) or a control group ( n = 54). Both groups received respiratory training education; the control group received conventional verbal instruction, whereas the intervention group received guidance using the developed portable intelligent respiratory training system. The primary outcome was respiratory training duration; secondary outcomes included dyspnea assessment scores and quality-of-life indicators. Results Compared with the control group, the intervention group showed a significantly greater mean single-session duration of respiratory function training at both T1 and T2 (between-group P < 0.001), with significant within-group increases from T0 to T1 and T1 to T2, and the longest duration at T2. The proportion of patients with “mild symptoms” increased by 16.67% in the intervention group, representing greater improvement than in the control group. Although no significant between-group difference in quality-of-life scores was identified ( p > 0.05), the intervention group (16.78 ± 4.44) achieved a more favorable score than the control group (18.15 ± 3.30). Conclusion The portable intelligent respiratory training and monitoring system effectively increases the duration of respiratory function training in COPD patients. Real-time monitoring and prompt feedback enhance training adherence in stable COPD patients and may improve clinical symptoms and quality of life to a certain extent.