Spirometry is often the starting point for lung function assessment, but it does not always answer the questions a busy diagnostic lab needs to resolve. If you are seeing complex obstructive patterns, suspected restriction, unexplained breathlessness, or mixed pathology, you may need more than flow volume loops alone.
The GANSHORN PowerCube Body+ is designed for labs that want to move beyond basic spirometry into a more complete pulmonary function testing workflow, with the option to expand into diffusion testing as your service develops.
What “beyond spirometry” looks like in day to day practice
Spirometry tells you how air moves in and out. Body plethysmography adds the measurements that spirometry cannot reliably provide, including lung volumes and airway resistance, supporting a fuller picture of what is happening in the lungs and airways. The PowerCube Body+ combines body plethysmography for lung volumes and airway resistance with spirometry for key spirometric parameters.
In practical terms, this can be most helpful when your lab needs to:
- Separate obstruction from restriction with more confidence
- Investigate air trapping and hyperinflation
- Support referral pathways for complex respiratory disease and preoperative assessment
- Improve decision making when spirometry results are equivocal or do not match symptoms
Manufacturers also position body plethysmography as particularly sensitive for identifying complex or mixed lung pathologies that may be missed by conventional testing alone.
PowerCube Body+ at a glance
From HaB Direct’s listing, PowerCube Body+ is a comprehensive lung function system built around body plethysmography plus spirometry, available in the UK on an enquiry basis.
From the manufacturer’s product page, PowerCube Body+ is presented as a configurable body box platform with a focus on precision, patient comfort, and streamlined hygiene friendly design. With multiple configuration kits including a truly barrier free wheelchair version.
Ganshorn PowerCube Body+
The Ganshorn Powercube Body+ is a sophisticated medical device for comprehensive lung function testing, utilising body plethysmography to measure lung volumes and airway resistance, and spirometry to assess parameters like vital capacity and forced expiratory volume.
When a “truly barrier free” body box matters
Accessibility is not just a tick box. This can directly affect throughput, patient experience, and the feasibility of testing in real populations. GANSHORN explicitly offers a “truly barrier free” wheelchair capable version of the PowerCube Body+ rather than a partial compromise. If your service tests patients with limited mobility, neuromuscular conditions, post-surgery limitations, or advanced disease, this option may be a decisive factor.
Hygiene and workflow: small design choices, big operational impact
In many labs, the bottleneck is not the test itself. It is room turnaround, cleaning, and the practicalities of working efficiently while meeting infection control requirements. GANSHORN highlights faster and easier hygiene measures through a well thought out design, alongside robust construction intended for long term use.
If your lab runs high volumes, these “non-clinical” features often become some of the most important when you measure real world productivity.
Expandability: adding diffusion when you are ready
Many labs want to start with plethysmography and spirometry, then add diffusion capacity (DLCO) as demand grows. GANSHORN positions the PowerCube Diffusion+ as an ultrasound based diffusion system with long life sensor technology and low operating costs. It is available either as a standalone system or integrated into the PowerCube Body+ platform.
If your lab is building a business case, that modular pathway can support phased investment rather than forcing everything into a single upfront purchase decision.
Is PowerCube Body+ the right fit for your lab?
PowerCube Body+ is most likely to make sense if you recognise several of these needs:
1) You regularly see complex cases
If you support respiratory clinics, hospital pathways, occupational health, or research where mixed patterns appear, plethysmography can provide the extra measurements clinicians ask for.
2) Accessibility is a service priority
If you want to test a broader patient population, the availability of a truly barrier free wheelchair version is a meaningful differentiator.
3) You want a future proof platform
If diffusion is on your roadmap, the integrated option with PowerCube Diffusion+ can help you scale capabilities without replacing the whole system.
4) Your lab cares about long term operating practicality
Design choices that support cleaning speed, patient comfort, and durable day to day use become critical as volumes increase.
Research and Clinical Use Cases Involving PowerCube Body+
The PowerCube Body+ is not just marketed as an advanced pulmonary testing platform. It has also been used in scientific research and clinical investigations, showing real-world applications beyond routine diagnostic workflows.
Clinical studies referencing the device
Several peer-reviewed studies have incorporated the PowerCube Body+ into their methodology, underlining its utility in research settings:
In research examining the impact of pulmonary rehabilitation on airway resistance in severe COPD (Kiliç L, et al. 2023), investigators used the PowerCube Body+ plethysmograph to measure static and dynamic lung volumes as well as total airway resistance. These measurements informed analyses of respiratory changes before and after intervention.
The device has been referenced in longitudinal studies assessing breathlessness and restrictive lung disease (Kopf S, et al. 2018) as part of comprehensive lung function profiling, alongside spirometry and diffusing capacity measurements.
A 2024 (Georgakopoulou VE, et al.) clinical investigation reported the use of the PowerCube Body+ as the body box system for comprehensive pulmonary function testing to analyse lung mechanics following hospitalisation for respiratory illness. In this study, PowerCube Body+ was used to perform both spirometry and plethysmography as part of the lung function testing protocol. This demonstrates real-world research use of the system beyond manufacturer literature and highlights its role in detailed lung function assessment in research settings:
Body plethysmography is well established in respiratory research for the measurement of lung volumes and airway resistance. A pilot study (Laufer et al. 2020) exploring alternative methods for measuring total lung capacity used body plethysmography as the reference technique, with measurements performed using a GANSHORN PowerCube Body+. This reinforces the role of body plethysmography as the benchmark for accurate lung volume quantification in research protocols.
What this means for your lab
These examples illustrate that the PowerCube Body+ is not limited to clinical diagnostics. They also support rigorous data collection in respiratory research and intervention studies. Its comprehensive plethysmography measurements are valued in settings where precise lung volume and resistance data are essential.
How HaB Direct supports UK customers
HaB Direct supplies pulmonary function testing equipment in the UK, including the Ganshorn PowerCube Body+. The system is available upon enquiry, so you can discuss configuration, space requirements, and the best fit for your workflow before committing.
Next steps
If you are considering moving beyond spirometry, start by mapping your current referral questions and testing gaps. Then match them to the capabilities you need now versus later. PowerCube Body+ is built to cover comprehensive PFT today and to scale with your lab as demand grows. Use the form below to leave us a message and our expert sales team will respond to you ASAP. Alternatively, email us directly at [email protected] or call our office on +44 (0)1926 816 100.
* indicates required fields
