Poor cardiopulmonary function may increase the risk of dementia! AI fitness magic mirror detection tool, 4 ways to strengthen the heart and lungs to improve cardiopulmonary endurance

Young people are not necessarily physically strong and should pay special attention to their cardiopulmonary endurance. Because once cardiopulmonary function is low, in addition to causing direct death, it will also increase the risk of comorbidities, such as the risk of dementia. In addition to dementia, sarcopenia, osteoporosis, and depression are also comorbidities that are closely related to cardiopulmonary function. Disability in any one of these links will accelerate the overall aging rate and significantly reduce the quality of life in old age. Therefore, in addition to doing "heart and lung strengthening" exercises to improve physical fitness, you can now test your cardiorespiratory endurance in just two minutes to find out if you have any deficiencies.

The AI ​​fitness magic mirror is designed specifically for the elderly and provides instant feedback on cardiorespiratory endurance scores. (Photo courtesy of Taiwan Epidemiological Society)

In addition to young people who need to pay attention to their cardiopulmonary function, the elderly should also not ignore the problem of declining cardiopulmonary function! The third level of national epidemic prevention alert was implemented from May this year to the end of August. Except for residential long-term care institutions, day care centers and community care and support centers were all closed. A total of 4,512 community centers were affected in three months. If we calculate that a well-run center serves an average of 100 elderly people, it may affect 450,000 elderly people. The elderly are unable to go out for exercise while staying at home for epidemic prevention, and the lack of structured physical activity may lead to a decline in cardiopulmonary function.

Four of the top ten causes of death are related to cardiopulmonary function

Among the latest top ten causes of death in China, four (30%) are related to cardiopulmonary function, and more than 70% of deaths occur among people over 65 years old. It can be seen that people of all ages cannot neglect training cardiorespiratory endurance. It is not only an independent factor in predicting death from cardiovascular disease, but those with high cardiorespiratory endurance can delay the onset of dementia by 5 years. Therefore, aerobic exercise can reduce the risk of dementia by 28%, which is especially important for the elderly.

In view of this, Formosa Plastics Corporation and Wang-Chan-Yang Charitable Trust, together with the Taiwan Society of Epidemiology, jointly launched the "Technology Introduction and Application of Artificial Intelligence to the Prevention and Health Promotion of Common Diseases in Taiwan" and developed an AI fitness mirror (iMirror) exclusively for the elderly, which can promptly identify whether the movements are correct and calculate the elderly's cardiopulmonary function and other physical fitness scores.

2 minutes of stepping health index x 4 ways to strengthen your heart and lungs. (Photo courtesy of Taiwan Epidemiological Society)

Cardiorespiratory endurance is an indispensable item in physical fitness testing

How do I know if my cardiopulmonary function is up to standard? In the "Technology Introduction and Artificial Intelligence Application to the Prevention and Health Promotion Program for Common Diseases in Taiwan", Associate Professor Cai Meiling of the Institute of Physiology at National Cheng Kung University, one of the hosts, explained that cardiopulmonary endurance testing can be used as an independent factor in predicting cardiovascular disease-related deaths. Cardiopulmonary endurance is an indispensable item in physical fitness testing. Common exercise cardiopulmonary endurance tests in hospitals are mainly performed by subjects on treadmills and steppers in segmented tests, and the blood pressure, heart rate and electrocardiogram of the subjects are recorded. However, it is not recommended for people over 70 years old, with a history of myocardial infarction, osteoporosis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to do this exercise test. Generally, basic functions are only checked through static electrocardiograms and spirometers. However, tracking the cardiopulmonary endurance of the elderly during exercise can truly reduce the risk of comorbidities.

AI fitness magic mirror is designed for the elderly to provide instant feedback on cardiorespiratory endurance scores

Associate Professor Cai Meiling said that in the context of a growing elderly population and insufficient medical resources in rural areas, the best strategy for preventive medicine is to combine current artificial intelligence and mobile medicine, making good use of people-oriented humanitarian care and developing rural technology and system industries. Orange Technology's project uses the edge computing technology of Artificial Intelligence over Internet of Things (AIoT) and existing physical fitness testing to develop an AI physical fitness magic mirror (hereinafter referred to as: iMirror) to promote preventive medicine. By deploying iMirror devices in remote areas, we can more effectively enhance the functions of community bases and promote the health of the elderly.

AI Fitness Magic Mirror (iMirror) operation mode. (Photo courtesy of Taiwan Epidemiological Society)

Professor Chiu Hong-yi, executive director of the Taiwan Epidemiology Society and professor of the Department of Public Health at Taipei Medical University, said that one of the tests in iMirror is a 2-minute stepping test to assess the cardiorespiratory endurance of the elderly. It is recommended that men over 65 years old who step less than 70 times and women who step less than 57 times have poor cardiorespiratory endurance and should pay attention to the control of cardiovascular diseases and the risk of comorbidities such as dementia, sarcopenia, and osteoporosis. It is recommended to strengthen daily training and promote health through a special "4 Ways to Strengthen Your Heart and Lungs" exercise intervention menu.

Professor Zhang Wanrong, director of the Electronic Engineering and AIoT Smart Internet Application Technology R&D Center of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, said that iMirror has designed six AI physical fitness test menus for the elderly based on the physical fitness items for the elderly stipulated by the Ministry of Education's Sports Administration, including 2-minute stepping, arm curls, 30-second sit-to-stand, etc., and uses 2-minute stepping as the focus of the AI ​​test item to evaluate the cardiopulmonary endurance of the elderly.

Taking the 2-minute stepping test in iMirror as an example, although the geriatric department of the hospital uses a 6-minute walk to test the cardiopulmonary endurance of the elderly, relevant literature since 2016 has pointed out that 2-minute stepping is closer to the elderly’s daily living habits of climbing stairs and moving in small spaces, and is also highly correlated with muscle endurance. Therefore, this time iMirror specially implements a 2-minute stepping test. The elderly can use iMirror AI to intelligently identify the two-dimensional coordinates of the human limbs in the limited indoor environment of the community or home to promptly identify whether the action is correct, calculate the number of times it is performed, and immediately give the corresponding score based on the correct number of times to evaluate cardiopulmonary endurance function. According to statistics, if men over 65 years old score less than 70 points and women less than 57 points, it means that their cardiopulmonary endurance is poor, and they should pay attention to the risks of cardiovascular disease, dementia, osteoporosis, and sarcopenia.

4 tips to strengthen your heart and lungs. (Photo courtesy of Taiwan Epidemiological Society)

【4 Tips to Strengthen Your Heart and Lungs】

Four interventions to strengthen the heart and lungs were tested on the elderly and showed a 20% improvement in cardiopulmonary endurance in three months.

Yoga Warm-up

Through simple stretching, you can quickly activate your body, stretch your muscles and bones, and avoid sports injuries.

Barthel respiration

One of the important breathing techniques in yoga practice, it exercises the elderly's ability to control their respiratory muscles through rapid inhalation and exhalation.

Upper arm raise

Exercise upper limb muscle endurance and increase resistance depending on your physical condition.

Lower limb stepping

Exercise lower limb muscle endurance and train the elderly to go up and down stairs and perform basic activities in daily life.

Elderly people can perform different intensities of "4 Ways to Strengthen the Heart and Lungs" exercise intervention according to their physical fitness scores, and perform iMirror testing again after exercise. The results of this program show that cardiopulmonary endurance is significantly improved by 20% after regular physical fitness testing and 3 months of exercise intervention.