Social-distancing-proof heart rate measurements become practical

Clips on fingers or electrodes on the skin: they’re convenient and effective methods of obtaining vital patient information, such as heart and respiration rate and blood oxygenation. But what if you could do all this without any skin contact? Remote monitoring would be easier to set up, more hygienic and more comfortable for patients.

Researchers from Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE) and TNO/Holst Centre have shown it’s possible. Using near-infrared light reflected from the patient’s skin onto a NIR photosensor, they were able to measure someone’s heart rate by detecting minute blood flow fluctuations in a person’s finger at a distance of up to 130 centimeters. Pointing the device at someone’s chest, they could derive the respiration rate. Importantly, these tests were performed in realistic conditions: indoors on a sunny day with the curtains only partially closed.