Android App Review: ‘Instant Heart Rate’

Instant Heart Rate Android App

Talking of Smartphone apps, we have some great ones. Most of them are quite a fun and others are there to enhance your

productivity. What about your health? There are quite a few medical/health related apps. So, here comes a new arrival to add to the health apps count. ‘Instant Heart Rate‘ is an app which uses your Android phone’s camera to calculate your pulse rate. Yea, really using the camera!

What will camera capture? Your skin’s color! Confused? Let me explain. You put your index finger on your Android phone’s camera lens. Instant Heart Rate is programmed to precisely catch the color of your skin. On each heart beat, your blood becomes oxygen rich and there’s a slight change in the color of the skin. That change in the color is what tells the app what your pulse rate is. You need to pose the back of the phone to the sun or a lamp for accurate results.

I just tested this app on my Desire and it pretty much satisfied me. In fact the pulse rate told by the app was very much accurate. I tested my pulse manually and it was the same as told by ‘Instant Heart Rate’. I decided to try it in the low light and again the result was ok. So, good light exposure is a recommended thing to do but it is not very much required. Try the app for yourself and let us know how well it works for you.

Here’s a video demo of the app by AndroidAndMe: