WiFi ROUTERS HAVE LEARNED TO MEASURE HEART RATE AT A DISTANCE

Ordinary WiFi routers can be turned into high-precision medical devices: the new Pulse-Fi technology allows you to track a person’s heart rate without wearable gadgets. The development was presented by researchers from the University of California in Santa Cruz.
The system is built on cheap ESP32 microchips and Raspberry Pi boards. It analyzes the interaction of WiFi signals with the body and records micro-oscillations caused by the heartbeat. Machine learning algorithms compare this data with clinical indicators.
The technology was tested on 118 volunteers in different conditions – from rest to movement. After just five seconds of signal processing, Pulse-Fi determined the pulse with an error of less than one beat per minute, maintaining accuracy even at a distance of up to three meters.
The developers note that the system can be used not only to control heart rate, but also to monitor breathing, which opens up prospects for diagnosing sleep apnea and respiratory disorders. Due to the low cost of the equipment, the technology has the potential for wide application – from home conditions to health care systems.