Apple's iWatch could include optical sensors designed to measure physical functions such as heart rate and oxygen levels, according to the electronics analyst. sun chang xu.
Xu has also indicated that Apple had originally planned the glucose monitoring, but that it has come to the conclusion that non-invasive methods have proven to be very imprecise and therefore excluded from the possible final iWatch model.
Measurement of oxygen levels and heart rate are two features that could include the rumored iWatch as used in many medical and health-related products.
Pulse oximetry devices, which are often designed to fit on a finger, use optical sensors to measure oxygen levels in the blood. These sensors are light-based, as they send two wavelengths of light through the skin. The difference in the way the light is absorbed allows the device to detect oxygen saturation in the blood.
Most Oximeters are clip-on type pulse oximeters for the fingertip or earlobe, suggesting that a wrist-based pulse oximeter is difficult to imagine, but not impossible to develop.
For its part, heart rate monitoring through optical sensors is a new technology that has already been incorporated into various fitness products including heart rate watch Mio Alpha. Heart rate monitoring until now required a chest strap, however with an optical sensor an incident light on the skin can be used to measure the blood flow through the capillaries thus determining the heart rate.
We'll see if the new Apple Watch relaunches each and every one of these technologies and gives a new blow to the table in terms of cutting-edge technology.
