Which MIR devices does Project Breathe work with?
Breathe works with the MIR Spirobank Smart and SpiroBank Oxi devices. At the moment, we only support the Spirobank Oxi’s spirometer though (Oximeter support is coming soon).
Why does Breathe need permission to connect to Bluetooth devices?
Privacy measures in the iOS and Android mobile operating systems mean that Breathe needs your consent to allow it to find and connect to Bluetooth devices. On newer iOS versions Breathe will request ‘Bluetooth’ permission. On Android devices and older iOS versions. Breathe will request ‘Location’ permission.
What turbine type do I have?
MIR devices are supplied with either an orange (reusable) or clear (disposable) turbine which attach to the white spirometer mouthpiece. Since the type of turbine used can affect the measures reported by the spirometer, Breathe asks you to specify this information during setup.
Why can’t Breathe app connect to my MIR Spirometer?
If Breathe tries to scan for your device but it can’t be found, there’s a number of things to check
Make sure your spirometer’s batteries are working and are inserted correctly. For more information, check the manual that came with the device. Also, make sure your spirometer is close to your phone.
Next, check in your phone’s Settings or Control Center to verify that Bluetooth is turned on.
Make sure that your runtime permissions are setup correctly. Breathe needs your explicit permission to scan for, and connect to Bluetooth devices.
Finally, check sure that no other devices or apps (e.g. the MIR SpiroBank app) are currently connected to your spirometer.
Breathe finds my device but disconnects during a test
Check the batteries in your spirometer. We’ve seen some issues where with weak batteries in the spirometer, Breathe could find and connect to the device, but putting the spirometer into ‘Test’ mode caused the Bluetooth connection to drop.
Why have I just seen a timeout message while performing a lung function test.
Once a test has been started, MIR spirometers usually wait up to 15 seconds for a blow. If no blow was detected in this period, they require the test to be restarted. Breathe allows you to increase this time window up to a maximum of 2 minutes. If you’re experiencing frequent timeout messages, just crank up the test timeout. Tap Breathe’s settings cog and under ‘My devices’ tap your spirometer. The test timeout can be changed in the device settings page
How do I setup my MIR Spirobank spirometer?
Setting up your MIR spirometer is simple. Tap Breathe’s settings cog and in the ‘My Devices’ section, tap the ‘+’ button. This will launch our spirometer setup wizard which will guide you through the process.
Why is Breathe asking me for my height/date of birth and other information?
Your MIR spirometer needs this information to calculate predicted values for various lung function measures including FEV1 and FVC. Breathe reports FEV1% as a percentage of these expected or predicted values. The Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI) reference model is used to calculate these predicted numbers.
Note that Breathe doesn’t share this profile information with anyone (including your clinical team if you have a Breathe account).
My predicted values don’t look right.
Your predicted value are calculated using the established GLI models. But if things don’t look right, double check that you’ve entered your profile information correctly, including your height, date of birth and sex. Once the spirometer setup wizard has been run, you can check and alter these values in Breathe’s settings page. Under ‘My Devices’, tap ‘Spirometry’.
Gah. I still can’t connect.
Let’s check if the spirometer is faulty. Install the MIR SPIROBANK app from your usual phone app store.
Go through the set up steps and connect to your spirometer.
If the MIR app discovers your spirometer, get in touch with the Breathe support team.
If the MIR app cannot discover your spirometer either, contact your clinical team who issued the spirometer.
Why do I need to blow into the spirometer 3 times for each test?
Breathe follows a typical ‘best of 3’ approach to recording lung function. This is considered good practice although you can always choose to end the test early. At the end of the test, Breathe automatically selects the blow with the highest FEV1 measure for you, although you can choose to save whichever blow you’d like.
I’m blowing into the spirometer but the bubble isn’t moving.
If during a test, the spirometer seems to be working ok, but the bubble isn’t moving when you blow, then it’s possible you might have misconfigured your profile information. Check your spirometer’s profile in the Breathe settings page.
How can I update the information my spirometer uses to calculate predicted values.
In Breathe’s settings page, under ‘My devices’, just tap on ‘Spirometry’. This will load the device settings where you can set device and profile information, including height and weight.