Technology enables heart monitoring via mobile phone

The heart monitoring system, developed by Belgian research institutions Imec and Holst Centre with TASS software professionals, was recently demonstrated for Android mobile phones at the Wireless Health Conference in San Diego, California, from 5-7 October.

While now in prototype form, the technology looks like a necklace of wires attached to a patch that would be worn on the user’s chest. The patch contains a sensor and two low-power microchips for amplifying the electrocardiogram signals from the user’s beating heart and filtering them. A microprocessor from Texas Instruments processes the data and a low-power radio wirelessly transmits the information to a user’s mobile phone. From there the data can be transferred anywhere, including a doctor’s office.

Julien Penders, programme manager of Body Area Network at Imec/Holst Centre, said that unlike current home health monitoring products that provide information on just the average heart rate, the Imec/Holst Centre device provides beat-to-beat analysis.

Another feature distinguishing it from other devices on the market, he added, is its lower power consumption providing seven days of constant use between charges.