Hello!
I have a question regarding the pulse/heartbeat sensor.
Is ear or finger the only placement for it?
Is there any chance for it to pick up heartbeat from the chest or some other place on human's body?
Thanks
Pulse sensor
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- adafruit_support_mike
- Posts: 67485
- Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2010 2:51 pm
Re: Pulse sensor
If you're referring to this one: https://www.adafruit.com/product/1093, it's an optical sensor that measures the amount of light reflected/transmitted through a small volume of skin.
The light sent into the skin is green, which is absorbed by blood flowing through capillaries in the skin. The capillaries expand as pressure from the heart pushes blood through the circulatory system, and that blocks more light.
Technically that should work on any piece of skin, but capillary density changes across the body. The fingers and earlobes are points that have a good combination of accessibility and blood density. You're welcome to try other points, but your mileage will probably vary.
The light sent into the skin is green, which is absorbed by blood flowing through capillaries in the skin. The capillaries expand as pressure from the heart pushes blood through the circulatory system, and that blocks more light.
Technically that should work on any piece of skin, but capillary density changes across the body. The fingers and earlobes are points that have a good combination of accessibility and blood density. You're welcome to try other points, but your mileage will probably vary.
Please be positive and constructive with your questions and comments.