My daily search for new medical apps landed me on this cool little tool. Instant Heart Rate claims to be able to detect your heart rate by using the flash and the cell phone camera on your Android-powered phone. It even claims to be able to do this in a well lit room without the flash.
When I first saw the app, I downloaded it thinking, “yea right”. I figured that it probably displayed a random number below 100. I never thought for a second that a “stupid” little app could actually detect a heart rate.
Well…..I was wrong.
I felt my pulse and counted about 80 beats per minute. I follwed the instructions and placed my finger firmly on the camera lens while also covering the flash. It took a couple seconds and read back “86 beats per minute”.
Lucky guess. I’m still not convinced.
Still out to bust this app, I decided to try a harder target. And what better target than my 3-year-old daughter? This was going to be perfect as my daughter was running around the house chasing the cat and had her heart rate nice and amped up. I counted her brachial pulse at 110 and then used the app to confirm. It read 114.
OK, now I’m convinced.
Using the app
Using the app is quite simple. You place your finger over the camera lens and flash until you see the heart rate appear on the screen. Sometimes it takes 10-12 seconds to get an accurate reading, so you have to be patient.
On the screen, you can see the heart symbol beating. This is supposed to simulate the actual rhythm of your heart. I found this to be a bit delayed. Not that I’m complaining. I’m still impressed that a freaking cell phone camera can accurately detect my heart rate.
Please excuse the mess in my “man cave”.
Conclusion
This is a great app. My hat goes off to the people that were able to make this possible. While I don’t see this replacing the pulse oximeter in my rig anytime soon, it’s a neat tool that I plan to keep on my phone.
Have an app you want me to review? E-Mail me at sean@medicmadness.com
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