VO underestimation using the Aquatrainer compared with facemask measurements: is it all in the ventilation?

摘要

After reading carefully the interesting study performed by Gay da et al. (2010), I would like to address a major concern that I have with this study. My concern has to do with the authors' interpretation of their results, in terms of the underestimation of oxygen uptake (VO_2) with the Aqua-trainer (AQ) and their subsequent conclusion that the AQ device is not suitable for use in swimming research. In the conclusions section of their paper, the authors present some possible sources of error but, in my opinion, they have neglected the possibility of a significant ventilation (V_E) measurement error.