InvenSense, the leading provider of intelligent sensor system on chip (SoC) for Motion and Sound, announced its motion artifact correction and heart rate variation platform solutions for Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors.

PPG technology consists of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and photodetectors to monitor pulse rate noninvasively. InvenSense’s HRM sensor system solutions enable in-activity and continuous heart rate monitoring by removing the motion artifact signal from the PPG signal using its 6-axis integrated MEMS (3-axis accelerometer + 3-axis gyroscope) device to deliver accurate heart rate (beats-per-minute) monitoring during elevated motion activities.

The HRM system solution also measures the R-R interval (the interval from the onset of one R wave to the onset of the next one, during one complete cardiac cycle) while static. This is used to calculate Heart Rate Variability (HRV), a new biometric that wearable devices are now providing their users to help determine overall wellness and stress level.

PPG sensors for heart rate monitoring are fast becoming a standard sensor in mid-to-high-end wearable devices like smart watches, activity monitors, and Bluetooth headsets. Yet, the limitation with many of today’s smart watches and activity trackers using PPG sensors is that they either require the user to be very still before initiating a heart rate measurement manually, or they deliver inaccurate heart rate information while the user is in motion.

Ideally, heart rate measurement should be continuously occurring without user intervention. InvenSense’s HRM solutions are capable of delivering a typical heart rate (bpm) accuracy of +/6 bpm regardless of activity and an R-R interval of less than 10%. InvenSense vital sign monitoring solutions are delivered as part of InvenSense’s FireFly SoC wearable system platform that integrates 6-axis motion sensor, M0 core, and Digital Motion Processor (DMP) blocks for efficient lower power processing and work in conjunction with many of the leading PPG sensors.

"Delivering an accurate heart rate is vital to wrist-worn wearable devices regardless of the activity in progress," said Eitan Medina, vice president of marketing and product management at InvenSense.

InvenSense HRM Motion Artifact Correction and Heart Rate Variation system solutions are available for mass production development projects today.