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The physiotherapy department recently acquired a new sophisticated and innovative piece of cardiovascular health monitoring equipment that will enable them to carry out a complex new research project.
The equipment (a Cortex MetaMax3B-R2 Metabolic system) was funded by the University of Liverpool via the Capital Equipment Funding Scheme, and allows for the accurate measurement of cardiovascular fitness.
The equipment helped the team secure £112,000 from the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy to enable them to complete a research study investigating the effect of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation for people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).
This study is due to start recruiting in August 2024 and, should any readers be interested, the team are currently on the lookout for participants.
The group, led by Dr Nicola Clague-Baker, have also recruited Karen Leslie, a PhD student (pictured using the equipment with MSc student Emily McBurney) to assist them.
Karen is a chartered physiotherapist who has been working as a private neuro physiotherapist for many years. She is a co-founder of Physios for ME (with Dr Clague-Baker) and co-wrote the book: A Physiotherapist’s Guide to Understanding and Managing Myalgic Encephalomyelitis.
Once the study has been completed, the team plan to use the equipment in further studies, and to educate staff and students about cardiovascular fitness measurement.
For more information, please visit the team’s website: www.physiosforme.com.