Student name:
Noa Cohen
Department:
Medical Engineering
Advisor name:
Dr. Zehava Blechman
The Impact of Breathing Training
Device (RESPeRATE) on Test Anxiety
• 22 healthy students.
• Age range:20 30.
• 32% women & 68% men.
Study Population:
3.3
Signal Processing and data analysis:
3.4
ECG
Heart Rate (HR)
Respiration
• Sampling rate: 1000 [Hz].
• Programming algorithms in MATLAB were
performed for calculating RR intervals,
respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), average
respiratory rate and respiratory amplitude (RA).
• Definition of variables :
• % STAI_S= 100*(STAI_S during 2
st
visit
STAI_S during 1
st
visit) / STAI_S during 1
st
visit.
• HR= Heart Rate difference between “before”
and “immediately after” an arrhythmic stress test
• RA= respiratory amplitude difference between
“before” and “immediately after” an arrhythmic
stress test.
• Statistical data analysis: t test, P<0.05.
100 0 100 200 300
% change in
RA during 1
st
visit
10
20
30
40
50
60
STAI_S
, in 1
st
visit
R=-0.48
p<0.001
Treatment
50
40
30
20
10
0
10
20
30
40
% STAI_S
Control
20
10
0
10
P=0.03
P=0.03
P=0.43
% STAI_S
Tre
atm
ent
Co
ntr
ol
Fig.1: Change i anxiety between treatment and control groups.
A
B
4. Results
A
B
%
Success in
arrhythmic
stress
tests, in
1st visit
• The response of breathing and heart rate to mental stress test may characterize test anxiety and predict
response to breathing training treatment.
• Relative changes in heart rate or/and respiratory amplitude during examination may predict the degree
of success in the exam.
• The results may reflect a neural phenomenon, as anxiety is associated with exaggerated neural
response to threats; lung inflation affects sympathetic neural activity while heart rate at rest is modulated
by parasympathetic neural activity.
• The clinical utility of these findings deserves further study.
5. Conclusions
B
Fig.3 : The correlation between changes in mean RA Vs STAI_S
(A) and Vs success in arrhythmic test (B).
20 10 0
10 20 30
50
30
10
10
30
50
% STAI_S
R=-0.53
p<0.001
0
A
20
10 0 10 20
30
0
20
40
60
80
100
Success in arrhythmic test
mean HR
during 1
st
visit
R=-0.47
p<0.001
B
mean HR
during 1
st
visit
% change in
RA during
1
st
visit
Fig.2: Th correlation between changes in m an HR Vs STAI_S
(A) and Vs success in arrhythmic test (B)
The ellipses distinguish between the two clusters.
268...,220,221,222,223,224,225,226,227,228,229 209,210,211,212,213,214,215,216,217,218,...1