Wireless Pulse Monitor for Running

[pone]

I have one of those Chinese pulse monitor / oximeter wrist watches, and it works well at rest. The problem is as soon as you start walking it loses the pulse and to regain this during exercise requires you to stop, sometimes for a full minute. Does anyone make a reliable pulse monitor that you can wear during strenuous exercise and hold an accurate pulse? I think a good design would be an earlobe clip that communicates by bluetooth to an application on an android phone. Ideally you would want it to be a data logger, so you could look for patterns during exercise or during sleep.

The technology is certainly here to pull this off, but is there a product?

This is the most accurate product I could find for use while running, and they do have a bluetooth option, but it is not an earlobe monitor so it is fairly invasive. See Masimo MightySat, and all three versions are showing in pre-release on Amazon. I tried to post URL, but I guess this site forbids that.

[stuward]

Most watch style pulse meters work by measuring light reflection of your wrist. Ear lobe systems also use this method. It is an unreliable method, especially outdorrs. A system that uses a chest strap is more reliable but less comfortable. It's a tradeoff.

Interesting info from Polar:
http://www.polar.com/en/support/Differe ... _and_Pulse" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I tried to post URL, but I guess this site forbids that.

This will change once the administrator is comfortable you're not going to use the force for evil purposes, like posting spam.

[Kenny Croxdale]

I have one of those Chinese pulse monitor / oximeter wrist watches, and it works well at rest. The problem is as soon as you start walking it loses the pulse and to regain this during exercise requires you to stop, sometimes for a full minute. Does anyone make a reliable pulse monitor that you can wear during strenuous exercise and hold an accurate pulse? I think a good design would be an earlobe clip that communicates by bluetooth to an application on an android phone. Ideally you would want it to be a data logger, so you could look for patterns during exercise or during sleep.

The technology is certainly here to pull this off, but is there a product?

This is the most accurate product I could find for use while running, and they do have a bluetooth option, but it is not an earlobe monitor so it is fairly invasive. See Masimo MightySat, and all three versions are showing in pre-release on Amazon. I tried to post URL, but I guess this site forbids that.

As Stu posted, chest strap monitors are the most accurate, 98-99%.

All other method are unreliable and inaccurate.

Kenny Croxdale

[pone]

Most watch style pulse meters work by measuring light reflection of your wrist. Ear lobe systems also use this method. It is an unreliable method, especially outdorrs. A system that uses a chest strap is more reliable but less comfortable. It's a tradeoff.

On Google, search Masimo Mightysat, and the second link on the page will be to Masimo Personal Health. On that page there is a great video showing accuracy of their device during movement, which they claim is due to their method of measurement. I cannot vouch for the product, but I do know Masimo is a public company with highly regarded sensor products.

The other product that looks promising is the Scosche Rhythm+ Heart Rate Monitor Armband which I found on Amazon. Unfortunately, the complaint I see on that one is that it fails to sync with popular third party software, so there appears to be some design flaw in their wireless communications. Testing required.