
Monitoring Heart Health, One Toilet Seat at a Time - myinnerbanjo
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/devices/monitoring-heart-health-one-toilet-seat-at-a-time
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tuukkah
To me, Emfit makes a lot more sense as these measurements (including heart
rate variability) are best made when you are relaxed and sleeping. It's a
sensor that is put under the mattress. It will detect when you lie down and
continuously collect ballistocardiography and sleep data:
[https://www.emfit.com](https://www.emfit.com)

During the day, you can wear a smartwatch or a smart ring instead.

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jnty
This reminds me of Chris Speed's toilet paper sensor experiment. Although it's
more frivolous, the fairly detailed analysis of the ethics and sensitivities
around monitoring people's visits to the toilet seems to apply equally well
for this invention...

[http://chrisspeed.net/?p=1529](http://chrisspeed.net/?p=1529)

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tivert
This was already parodied four years ago:

[https://techcrunch.com/2014/11/18/smart-pipe-just-might-
be-t...](https://techcrunch.com/2014/11/18/smart-pipe-just-might-be-the-best-
waste-based-startup-video-ever/)

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kristiandupont
Is there any of these markers that couldn't be tracked with a smart watch?

Of course, some people (like myself) might prefer not to wear a smart watch so
it can still make sense and places like hospitals seem like an obvious market
as well..

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PunchTornado
smart watches are terrible at measuring heart rate because they are at wrist.
much better at finger tips for example.

was checking my iwatch while I've done an exercise that had its own heart
monitor. the iwatch data wasn't even close.

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Tharkun
That's not quite correct. Smart watches have gotten quite good at measuring
heart _rate_. They are sometimes a bit slow to notice drastic changes (like
going from sedentary to exercise), but they're pretty accurate when it comes
to just counting beats per unit of time. They can be, however, quite
sensitive. If it's not working well for you, it's likely because the sensor is
wet, or dirty, too tight or too loose.

The fingertip seems like a truly terrible place to measure heart rate, given
that fingers are constantly moving and pretty sensitive to pressure. They're
the easiest place to measure oxygen saturation (SpO2) though.

Most (if not all?) smart watches have optical sensors, which register the
_flow of blood_. You can measure the change in velocity and count the number
of beats and the time between them. It doesn't tell you anything about what
the heart is doing. A single lead ECG can do that reasonably well. Anything
more professional (12 lead holter) quickly becomes impractical for long term
use.

