Heart rate monitor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article is written like an advertisement. Please help rewrite this article from a neutral point of view. For blatant advertising that would require a fundamental rewrite to become encyclopedic, use {{db-spam}} to mark for speedy deletion. (April 2009) |
- This article refers to a device used by non scientists. For the article on the medical device performing a similar function, see Electrocardiography.
A heart rate monitor is a personal monitoring device that allows a subject to measure their heart rate in real time or record their heart rate for later study. Early models consisted of a monitoring box with a set of electrode leads that attached to the chest. While these still exist, modern versions usually consist of two elements: a chest strap transmitter and a wrist receiver or mobile phone (which usually doubles as a watch or phone). Strapless heart rate monitors are available as well, but lack some of the functionality of the original design. Advanced models additionally measure heart rate variability, activity, and breathing rate to assess parameters relating to a subject's fitness. Some newer monitors have replaced the plastic straps with fabric sensors for comfort or garment integration. The new smart fabric technology has some promise to eliminate the need for elastic straps that hold the transmitter with embedded electrodes in contact with the chest.
When a heart beat is detected a radio signal is transmitted, which the receiver uses to determine the current heart rate. This signal can be a simple radio pulse or a unique coded signal from the chest strap (such as Bluetooth, ANT, or other low-power radio link); the latter prevents one user's receiver from using signals from other nearby transmitters (known as cross-talk interference).
There are a wide number of receiver designs, with various features. These include average heart rate over exercise period, time in a specific heart rate zone, calories burned, breathing rate, built in speed and distance, and detailed logging that can be downloaded to a computer.
[edit] See also
Remote Physiological Monitoring
