Google research reveals it can turn ANC earbuds into heart rate sensor “with a simple software update”
Summary
Google has recently detailed the findings of new research that can have groundbreaking potential in creating affordable health sensors. The post also added that APG exhibits high resilience to motion artifacts, adheres to safety regulations with an 80 dB margin below the limit, remains unaffected by seal conditions, and is inclusive of all skin tones. “The APG signal is a pulse-like waveform that synchronizes with heartbeats and reveals rich cardiac information, such as dicrotic notches,” explained Google. It said that the auditory canal receives its blood supply from the arteria auricularis profunda, also known as the deep ear artery. After the process was developed, the researchers conducted two rounds of user experience studies with 153 participants and found that APG achieved consistently accurate heart rate (3.21% median error across participants in all activity scenarios) and heart rate variability (2.70% median error in inter-beat interval) measurements.