At a medical device exhibition in Yokohama, Japan last week, researchers from the Kaiteki Institute Inc. and Bifrostec Inc. demonstrated a prototype technology that can turn $8 earbuds into a heart rate monitor.
The microphones in a pair of earbuds transmit data about the pressure changes in the ear canal as the eardrum moves, which can be analyzed to determine the wearer's heart rate. According to its creators, the system doesn't require tweaking anything about commercially-available earphones, just using a program to process the signals.
