Japan's Fujitsu unveils smartphones that can take your pulse
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A Fujitsu engineer demonstrates new technology that utilises a web-camera in PCs or smartphones, at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on Monday, March 18, 2013. A smartphone that can take the pulse of a user just by looking at his or her face was unveiled in Japan on Monday. -- PHOTO: AFP
TOKYO (AFP) - A smartphone that can take the pulse of a user just by looking at his or her face was unveiled in Japan on Monday.
Technology giant Fujitsu plans to put the invention to practical use within a year, enabling people at work or at home to track their health and collect data for analysis without wearing special devices.
The smartphone works by measuring variations in the brightness of a person's face caused by the flow of blood.
Researchers say countless tiny blood vessels run through the face, enabling monitoring of haemoglobin which absorbs green light. Haemoglobin is a protein found in red blood cells that contains iron and transports oxygen.
