Fujitsu, the Japanese company known for its various offerings in the field of consumer electronics and IT services has developed a novel technology to calculate a person’s pulse rate using just the built in camera of a PC, a tablet or just your Smartphone. This is accomplished by Fujitsu’s own software which uses facial imaging algorithms to define the pulse rate of an individual.
It is based on this simple fact that Hemoglobin, the transporter of Oxygen in your red blood cells, is an absorber of green light. So, what Fujitsu’s software does is, it takes a video of the face, segregates a certain area of the face and starts taking averages of all the RGB components in each and every frame of that area. Then, it removes the extra data from the Red and Blue colours and segregates the brightness waveform of the green colour alone. Referencing the image above, the pulse rate is then calculated using the peak data in correlation with the video time. So, just by using the brightness of the face at a certain time, which varies in the green component, the software can calculate your pulse rate.
This will eliminate the need for a separate apparatus, and adds more value to the smartphone in terms of health monitoring. With the amount of sensors and its uses in the daily life, smartphones could soon become real time health monitors for the health conscious. However, we do have to note that there are apps that do this already, like Cardiio. But we are not sure if Fujitsu’s better or not.
Source Fujitsu via The Verge