MediaTek Claims First Health Biosensor for Smartphones

　　Claiming an industry first, MediaTek announced a biosensor that monitors six types of health functions — including tracking heart-rate information, blood-pressure trends, peripheral oxygen-saturation levels and more — from a smartphone.

　　The MediaTek Sensio MT6381 is a software and module package designed to deliver health data via optical, electrical and processing components. The customizable device will allow smartphone manufacturers to make handsets with health-monitoring functions while eliminating the need for multiple sensors, according to MediaTek.

　　The Sensio will also provide manufacturers the flexibility to develop proprietary applications or leverage third-party applications and developer add-ons, the company said in a press statement.

　　“With our MediaTek Sensio biosensor module and software, developers and device makers have a powerful, embedded health-monitoring solution that delivers heart and fitness information in around 60 seconds,” said Yenchi Lee, senior director of product marketing for MediaTek’s wireless business.

　　The module uses LEDs together with a light-sensitive sensor to measure the absorption of red and infrared light from a phone user’s fingertips. By the touch of a device’s sensors and electrodes, the Sensio creates a closed loop between a user’s heart and the biosensor to measure electrocardiogram and photoplethysmogram (PPG) waveforms, according to MediaTek.

　　The company said Sensio provides the following six health data points in about 60 seconds:

• Heartrate – heartbeats per minute.

• Heartrate Variability – variation in the time between heartbeats.

• Blood Pressure Trends – a range of data over a period of time.

• Peripheral Oxygen Saturation – the amount of oxygen in the blood.

• Electrocardiography (ECG) – the electrical activity of the heart over a period of time displayed as a graph.

• Photoplethysmography (PPG) – the change in volume of blood.

　　The Sensio MT6381 package will include integrated red and infrared LEDs for reflective PPG measurement plus a 1-channel ECG analog front-end. The device will come in a 6.8 mm x 4.93 mm x 1.2 mm OLGA 22-pin package with a I2C /SPI digital interface.