We’re excited to announce that the Physiological Age feature is now live in the Kubios HRV App! This powerful tool analyzes your resting heart rate variability (HRV) using RMSSD and compares it to population norms to estimate your physiological age — a key indicator of your overall health.

Why is this important? Your physiological age reflects how well your body is functioning compared to your actual age, offering valuable insights into your cardiovascular health and resilience. By monitoring your physiological age over time, you can track long-term trends and see how lifestyle changes affect your overall well-being.

How does it work? The app collects your HRV data through consistent measurements and provides an estimate of your physiological age based on RMSSD trends. The more you measure, the more precise your estimate becomes, giving you an ongoing picture of your health.

Learn more about physiological age in our latest blog post.

More information about Kubios HRV Scientific:
Product page
Product brochure
Tutorial videos

Want to hear more or get a quote for the Kubios HRV Scientific?
Please contact our sales team at sales@kubios.com

Support for dog HRV data

Did you know that dogs exhibit significantly higher HRV compared to humans?

To ensure accurate analysis, our new update introduces adjusted pre-processing and analysis settings specifically designed for dog HRV data. With this new release, Kubios HRV Scientific is now the first HRV analysis software that fully supports dog HRV data.

Kubios HRV Scientific classroom license

Good news for educational institutions that want to use Kubios HRV Scientific software in teaching or training labs: Kubios HRV Scientific has a new classroom license that allows multiple active sessions with a single license. The fact that you don’t have to buy several licenses separately makes license management much easier; one license works for the whole classroom! This type of license is available for educational use only.

Kubios HRV Scientific group measurement license

Our new license type allows multiple simultaneous HRV measurements in Kubios HRV mobile app. This feature makes HRV measurement and analysis easier and more efficient for scientific researchers and professionals. You can measure for example 10 or more (depending on the license) participants at the same time and upload their measurements to your Kubios HRV Scientific desktop software for analysis via Kubios Cloud Sync. The license allows one active session on the Kubios HRV Scientific and multiple sessions on the Kubios HRV mobile app.

Improvements and bug fixes

The update also brings along several minor improvements and bug fixes, including:

• Improved support for EDF+ annotations
• Improved support for CSV and FIT files
• Time-varying spectrum estimation updated
• Minor improvements to the QRS detector algorithm.

For more details, please see the Release notes.

Kubios sport and exercise analytics is available in the following Kubios HRV software products:

1. Kubios HRV Scientific – HRV analysis software designed for research and professional use (runs in Win & macOS).
2. Kubios sports and exercise analysis service – Cloud service for companies who want to integrate Kubios analytics in their training, sports or exercise application (documented API available upon request)

Features of sport and exercise analysis

Kubios sport and exercise analytics provides information about the cardiorespiratory function, training effect, and metabolic profile of the athlete. In addition, heart rate recovery, which is known to correlate with cardiorespiratory fitness, is provided.

Cardiorespiratory function is assessed via heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RESP), where RESP is estimated from the beat-to-beat HRV data by using a validated algorithm [1, 2]. RESP is an important parameter in exercise physiology since it is a strong marker of “physical effort”. Compared to oxygen consumption (VO2) and HR, RESP responds rapidly to fast changes in workload (characteristic especially for high intensity interval training, HIIT), and thus, RESP is strongly associated with the on/off metabolic demand [3]. Instantaneous values of HR and RESP as well as time spent at different HR and RESP zones are reported as illustrated in the figure below.

Training effect is assessed by using the training impulse (TRIMP), which increases exponentially as a function of exercise intensity, modeling lactate accumulation during exercise [4]. In Kubios analytics, the TRIMP is computed using beat-to-beat HR values, and therefore, the instantaneous value of TRIMP (TRIMP/min) can be reliably derived to represent training intensity. The accumulation of TRIMP, on the other hand, reflects training load accumulation. An illustration of training effect assessment is shown below.

Metabolic profile of the athlete can be assessed via ventilatory thresholds and oxygen uptake (VO2). In exercise prescription, training efforts are typically separated into three intensity zones based on aerobic and anaerobic thresholds, which are generally defined by the first and second ventilatory or lactate thresholds. Kubios analytics provides validated estimates for the ventilatory thresholds VT1 and VT2. Ventilatory thresholds are estimated based on instantaneous values of HR, RESP, and DFA alpha1, where DFA alpha1 reflects fractal behavior of HRV [6]. The accuracy of the Kubios VT algorithm is -1.2 ± 10.7 bpm (mean ± SD) for the VT1 and -1.0 ± 6.7 bpm for the VT2. In addition to ventilatory thresholds, oxygen uptake during the exercise is estimated by using a well known relationship between the HR and VO2 [6, 7]. Instantaneous VT and VO2 values as well as time spent at specified zones are reported as illustrated below.

Heart rate recovery (HRR) tells how much HR drops at specific time frames after exercise cessation. Similar to HRV, HRR has been linked with training status due to its association with the autonomic nervous system. Well trained athletes show faster HRR compared to untrained individuals. In addition, longitudinal studies have shown faster HRR with an improvement in training status after a training intervention [8, 9]. HRR is reported at 60s, 120s, and 300s increments. In addition, a fast 30s recovery (T30) within 0-40s after exercise cessation is reported.

About Kubios

Kubios is a software company specializing in heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. HRV is a physiological phenomenon where the time intervals between consecutive heartbeats vary from beat-to-beat. The variation is due to continuous regulation of the heart rate by the autonomic nervous system. HRV is the most commonly used tool for objective assessment of physiological stress and recovery, but requires accurate analysis tools. Kubios HRV software products provide the most detailed HRV analysis in the market and they are widely used by researchers and professionals around the world.

Contact: sales@kubios.com

References

1. Lipponen JA and Tarvainen MP. Accuracy of Kubios HRV software respiratory rate estimation algorithms. Kubios white paper, 2021.
2. Rogers B, Schaffarczyk M, and Gronwald T. Estimation of respiratory frequency in women and men by Kubios HRV software using the Polar H10 and Movesense Medical ECG sensor during an exercise ramp, Sensors, 22(Article 7156):1-12, 2022.
3. Nicolò A, Massaroni C, and Passfield L. Respiratory frequency during exercise: the neglected physiological measure. Front Physiol, 8(Article 922):1-8, 2017.
4. Morton RH, Fitz-Clarke JR, and Banister EW. Modeling human performance in running. Environ Exerc Physiol, 69(3):1171-7, 1990
5. Rogers B and Gronwald T. Fractal correlation properties of heart rate variability as a biomarker for intensity distribution and training prescription in endurance exercise: an update, Front Physiol, 13(Article 879071):1-11, 2022.
6. Christensen CC, Frey HM, Foenstelien E, Aadland E, and Refsum HE. A critical evaluation of energy expenditure estimates based on individual O2 consumption/heart rate curves and average daily heart rate. Am J Clin Nutr, 37(3):468-472, 1983.
7. Ceesay SM Prentice AM, Murgatroyd PR, Goldberg GR, Scott W, and Spurr GB. The use of heart rate monitoring in the estimation of energy expenditure: a validation study using indirect whole-body calorimetry. Br J Nutr 61(2):175-186, 1989.
8. Daanen HAM, Lamberts P, Kallen VL, Jin A, and Van Meeteren NLU. A systematic review on heart rate recovery to monitor changes in training status in athletes. Int J Sports Physiol Performance, 7:251-260, 2012.
9. Fecchio RY, Brito L, Leicht AS, Forjaz CLM, and Peçanha T. Reproducibility of post-exercise heart rate recovery indices: A systematic review. Autonom Neurosci Basic Clin, 221(Article 102582):1-9, 2019.

Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis software designed for scientific research and professional use.

Kubios HRV Scientific 4.0 (the next generation of Kubios HRV Premium) is a gold-standard HRV software, used roughly at 1800 universities in 149 countries. Kubios HRV is a scientifically validated software that has been used in over 5900 scientific publications.

Kubios HRV Scientific provides the most detailed HRV analysis on the market. The analysis features include:
– HRV analysis for specified time periods (analysis samples)
– HRV time trends (time-varying analysis) for longer term recordings
– Training analytics providing detailed information on cardiorespiratory function, training effect, metabolic rate and heart rate recovery (new feature)
– ECG waveform analysis (new feature)

Reliability and accuracy of Kubios HRV Scientific analytics are guaranteed by robust beat detection, noise handling and beat correction algorithms. Kubios HRV Scientific supports several third-party HR, ECG and PPG devices, also supporting small animal HRV data (new feature). In addition, the software supports measurements made with the Kubios HRV mobile app (new feature). The custom measurement mode of the Kubios HRV app offers an easy and cost-effective solution for recording scientifically valid HRV data. The app supports Bluetooth HR sensors providing beat-to-beat RR data, but when used together with Polar Sensors (H10 or Verity Sense) also raw ECG, PPG, and acceleration data can be recorded. Please note that you need a Kubios HRV Scientific license to store and access your custom measurement data.

Movesense, a supplier of cutting-edge wearable ECG, heart rate and movement sensors, and Kubios, a leading provider of software for scientific heart rate variability analysis, promote the compatibility of their products to make top-of-the-line physiological analyzes accessible and practical for anyone interested in the topic. Kubios and Movesense’s products complement each other perfectly, and in the future the two Finnish experts plan to make their use even more seamless.

The use of Movesense sensors for the development of new wearable products and scientific research is increasing rapidly. In academia, Kubios software is often the tool of choice for analyzing the data measured with Movesense. Kubios also provides high value for commercial development projects with Movesense.

All projects with Movesense sensors include three main steps: collecting data with the sensors, analyzing the data, and turning the findings into insights, algorithms and applications that deliver value to the user.

Regardless of whether the project aims at a commercial product or a scientific publication, the common need is to collect accurate data on the study topic and to analyze it in an efficient way. For projects focusing on heart rate variability (HRV) and ECG analysis, Movesense team warmly recommends Kubios HRV Premium software as an analysis tool. “It is the best tool we’ve tested so far for professional analysis of ECG and HRV data recorded with Movesense sensors”, they say.

Kubios HRV has reached a gold standard status in scientific research for HRV studies and is used at roughly 1200 universities in 128 countries. Kubios HRV is also a practical tool for health and well-being professionals who want to include HRV assessment in their services. Bundled with the Movesense sensor, it is a powerful solution for professional HRV and ECG analysis.

For companies developing their own HRV or ECG applications for Movesense sensors, Kubios HRV Premium is highly useful for visualizing and analyzing raw data in the development phase.

Simple steps for analyzing Movesense data with Kubios HRV Premium

To analyze Movesense data with Kubios HRV, follow these simple steps:

1. Install Movesense Showcase app for iOS or Android
2. Connect a Movesense Sensor to the app and record data
3. Save the recorded data files as csv with the app
4. Open the csv files in Kubios HRV

Kubios HRV is compatible with a range of ECG monitors and high-end heart rate sensors. The Movesense range has two options to use with Kubios. Movesense Medical measures heart rate and 1-lead ECG with a medical grade accuracy and is certified as a Class IIa medical device accessory (93/42/EEC). The non-medical ECG measurement of Movesense HR2 and Movesense HR+ is optimized for sports and wellness. All models offer ECG sampling rates from 125 to 512Hz, standard Bluetooth heart rate with R-R intervals with one millisecond resolution, and simultaneous movement measurement with a 9-axis IMU.

To lower the entry barrier, Movesense starts selling a bundle of Movesense HR2 ECG and movement sensor and a Movesense chest strap. Earlier these products were available only separately and primarily intended for research and development purposes. The new bundle is a practical kit for anyone interested in measuring and recording 1-channel ECG signal or heart rate interval data.

Due to regulatory reasons, the medically registered Movesense Medical sensor continues to be available separately. It primarily serves commercial partners and scientists as a professional device and as a research tool. For users interested in the medical ECG bandwidth, we currently recommend the Movesense Medical Developer Kit, which includes a sensor and a chest strap with some additional accessories and can be used with Kubios HRV Premium software.

Order Kubios HRV Premium software
Get a Movesense HR2 + chest strap bundle
Order Movesense Medical Developer Kit (includes chest strap)

Proven accuracy

The accuracy of Movesense ECG and HRV measurement has been validated in several recent research publications.

An article published in March 2022 concluded that the Movesense Medical sensor can be used in lieu of a reference 12-lead ECG for the calculation of HRV. Results showed high agreement between Movesense and the reference ECG in terms of key HRV parameters. The data was analyzed with Kubios HRV.

Another study from October 2021 verified that the Movesense Medical, used with Movesense heart rate strap, provided a high-quality 1-lead ECG signal for visual evaluation. Using ECG recordings made with Movesense Medical, cardiologists achieved 100% diagnostic accuracy of atrial fibrillation.

The chest strap form factor eliminates most of the shortcomings of traditional Holter ECG recorders and makes Movesense suitable for long-term monitoring of heart rate variability and arrhythmias.

Lesstress, a company based in the Netherlands, is an expert in stress management and the partner for vital employees and organizations. Lesstress offers individual stress coaching programs that help employees to better balance stress and recovery.

Managing stress is important. The number of burnouts is increasing and the costs of absenteeism from work are high.

This is the problem that Lesstress is tackling, say the founders of Lesstress Irene ten Dam and Judith Lemmers. Our stress coaching programs consist of 1) daily energy measurements 2) online coaching and 3) mobile first e-learning with the aim of preventing burnouts and improving performance at work, they add.

Lesstress Life application

Lesstress Life is a stress management application which helps employees to gain insights in how to improve their stress resilience. Daily measurements and measurements during work provide direct feedback on their ability to cope with stress. With these insights employees learn how to improve their physical and mental health.

When it comes to the processing and analyzing of the HRV data, the Lesstress application relies on Kubios HRV analytics.

Kubios is a software company specializing in HRV analysis and we at Lesstress chose to use their gold-standard HRV analysis algorithms inside our applications from the beginning. The integration of Kubios HRV analytics inside our app was easy and we appreciate the reliability and accuracy of Kubios HRV analytics as well as the fact that their analysis service scales up based on our requirements.

Kubios readiness analysis service

Kubios readiness analysis service is designed for companies like Lesstress who want to use HRV analysis for the purpose of objectively monitoring stress and recovery within their application. We have over 20 years of experience in HRV and our HRV analysis algorithms are scientifically validated and are widely used within the scientific community, says Mika Tarvainen, CEO of Kubios.

The readiness analysis service offers detailed HRV analysis from short interbeat interval (IBI) recordings. The recordings can be made at rest, for example every morning after waking up, to monitor the day-to-day changes in readiness or recovery. In addition, measurements can also be performed at specific times during daytime, for example to monitor work related stress.

The HRV parameters returned from the readiness analytics include individual readiness index, parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) indexes, heart rate, RMSSD, SDNN, LF and HF powers, and respiration rate. Prior to analysis, the IBI data is preprocessed by a validated beat correction algorithm to ensure the accuracy of the HRV analysis output.

By choosing Kubios HRV analytics into your application you get accurate and detailed HRV analysis as well as a reliable and easy-to-integrate service, summarizes Mika Tarvainen. Our aim is to constantly expand our HRV analysis product offering and to establish long-term partnerships with companies like Lesstress. We would like to offer our HRV analytics to wellness technology companies to improve the accuracy of their stress management applications and thereby help people cope with stress.

Kubios HRV analysis service is a solution for you if you want to integrate Kubios HRV analysis, the gold-standard heart rate variability analysis algorithms validated in hundreds of scientific studies, into your application. We currently offer three different services which are described below. 

1) Kubios Readiness Analytics: The service offers detailed HRV analysis from short interbeat interval (IBI) recordings. By using the service, you can easily integrate Kubios HRV algorithms, the gold-standard HRV analysis algorithms validated in hundreds of scientific studies, into your health, wellness or sports application. The service offers accurate pre-processing and detailed HRV analysis. Supported HRV parameters include individual readiness index, PNS and SNS indexes, mean RR, RMSSD, SDNN, LF and HF powers, and respiration rate. Visit product page for more information.

2) Kubios Sport and Exercise Analytics: This analysis service offers detailed performance analytics and heart rate recovery for different types of training or exercise sessions. By using the service, you can easily integrate Kubios HRV and performance metrics into your training, sports or exercise application. Supported parameters include heart rate, respiration rate, energy expenditure, training intensity and volume (TRIMP), and HRV thresholds based on DFA-alpha1. Both instantaneous values and time spent at different zones are reported. In addition, detailed heart rate recovery analysis is supported. Visit product page for more information.

3) Kubios Team Readiness Data: In this service, a team based on your requirements is created and team members (athletes or research participants) can measure their readiness using the Kubios HRV mobile app. The readiness data is stored in Kubios cloud from where it can be easily accessed via API or delivered to you by Kubios. By using the service, you can easily integrate the readiness results into your team application or start collecting research data. Visit product page for more information.

Benefits of choosing Kubios HRV analysis service

Proven accuracy: Kubios HRV algorithms are scientifically validated and are widely used by researchers and professionals around the world. The service includes our validated beat correction algorithm, trend removal algorithm to minimize the effect of slow heart rate changes on the short-term HRV analysis results, as well as automatic noise detection. 

Detailed analytics: Our philosophy is to offer the most detailed HRV analysis in the market. The readiness analytics provides detailed HRV analysis for short resting HRV measurements, including an individual readiness index. The sport and exercise analytics, on the other hand, provides detailed performance metrics and heart rate recovery. The analysis outputs are always based on scientifically validated HRV and performance parameters.  

Reliable and easy-to-integrate: Kubios is a Finnish software company with a strong scientific background. We are a growing company and our main focus is to constantly expand our HRV analysis product offering. Our analysis services run in  Amazon Web Services and a documented (RESTful) API is available upon request. By choosing Kubios, you will get a reliable long-term partner and state-of-the-art HRV analytics that scale to your requirements.

Please contact us for pricing and more information about any of the services.

Validation report of the respiratory rate (RESP) estimation algorithm, which is available in Kubios HRV Premium software, is now available at Kubios publications www.kubios.com/publications/.

Respiratory rate is one of the vital signs that is widely used in a range of clinical settings as well as in exercise  monitoring. In addition, RESP can be used in heart rate variability (HRV) analysis, specifically to improve the  accuracy of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) assessment. Respiration can be directly measured using various techniques, but RESP can also be estimated from electrocardiogram (ECG) or RR interval recordings.

Kubios HRV Premium (version 3.5 or later) includes two algorithms for RESP estimation. The first one uses both ECG and RR data features in RESP estimation and is utilized only when ECG data is available. The second algorithm uses only RR data in RESP estimation and is utilized when ECG data is not available. The accuracies of the algorithms were validated with resting HRV recordings from 262 participants and with maximal exercise test recordings from 123  participants.

The observed correlation with true RESP was strong to moderate in resting HRV recordings (R = 0.892 vs. R = 0.676) and strong in exercise HRV recordings (R = 0.922 vs. R = 0.881), with higher correlations corresponding to the  estimates that used both ECG and RR data in RESP estimation. Overall, the accuracy of the algorithm which utilized both ECG and RR data for RESP estimation was better with an average bias of 0.021 Hz and accuracy (error SD) of 0.062 Hz.

In conclusion, the bias and accuracy of both respiratory rate estimation algorithms is good. The algorithm that uses both ECG and RR interval data in RESP estimation performs better at high respiratory rates. The difference in high respiratory rates may be explained by the decreased or almost vanished HRV during high-intensity exercise.