Can you trust a wearable CPX device for research-quality metabolic testing?

When researchers encounter VOCO for the first time, two questions come up almost every time: why is it priced so differently from competing systems, and how do we know the data is accurate?

Both are fair questions — and both deserve a straight answer. In a new post on the VOCO website, Qubit’s Steve Hunt addresses them head on, starting with a problem that doesn’t get discussed enough in the field: there is no true gold standard for CPX testing. Comparing one device’s output against another only tells you the datasets differ — it doesn’t tell you which one is right. The only meaningful validation is testing against a metabolic simulator, which is exactly how every VOCO unit leaving Qubit is verified.

The post also covers why measuring O₂ alone misses more than half the metabolic picture, how VOCO’s periodic autocalibration maintains accuracy as environmental conditions change, and why real-time VO₂ and VCO₂ data changes what’s actually possible during training and testing — in the lab and in the field.

If you’re attending ACSM in Salt Lake City this May, VOCO will be running live demonstrations at booth #105. Drop by to see the data for yourself, or read the full post below.

Read the full article on voco-cpx.com →

metabolic testing