Press Your Finger to Your Smartphone and Say "Ahh"

Researchers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute have developed a smartphone app that is capable of measuring heart rate, heart rhythm, respiration rate and blood oxygen saturation using the phone's built-in video camera. The app delivers vital signs that are as accurate as standard medical monitors now in clinical use.

The app works by analyzing video clips that are recorded while an individual's fingertip is pressed against the lens of the phone's camera. When the camera's light penetrates the skin, it reflects off of pulsing blood in the finger. The app is then able to correlate subtle shifts in the color of the reflected light with changes in the individual's vital signs.

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