The prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is increasing worldwide, and at the same time it is associated with increased mortality and reduced quality of life. Efforts to build sustainable rehabilitation approaches to COPD treatment and prevention are crucial. The system of long-term pulmonary rehabilitation care is insufficient. The main reasons for the absence of these outpatient programs are the lack of experience, the lack of interest of insurance companies in secondary prevention programs, and the lack of healthcare facilities in large geographical areas. The possibility of at-home pulmonary rehabilitation models (telemonitoring and telecoaching) could solve this problem.
Core Tip: Inspiratory muscle training with a telerehabilitation device motivated a patient to participate actively and be more responsible for his health. The test of incremental respiratory endurance allows remote monitoring of the patient’s inspiratory muscle training in real-time, while the training goal is automatically adjusted based on a patient’s inspiratory performance and status before the start of each inspiratory muscle training session. Also, the novel sustained maximal inspiratory pressure may be a more sensitive predictor of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease severity than the current commonly used maximal inspiratory pressure.