Researchers at the University of Washington have reportedly found a new way to look for irregular heartbeats – with smart speakers like the Amazon Alexa or Google Home to detect variations in heart rhythms.
The Washington Post reports that researchers at the University of Washington claim that they have developed a contactless way of looking for irregular heartbeats using smart speakers. Analysts have reportedly developed an AI-powered system that uses consumer smart speakers such as Amazon and Google’s products to pick up vibrations caused by nearby chest wall movements.
The heart detection technology can be used to improve how doctors and medical professionals make telemedicine appointments by giving them data that would otherwise require portable health detectors or a personal examination.
Researchers have been aiming to use devices that humans have already accessed to push cardiology and health monitoring into the future, said Arun Sridhar, a UW assistant professor of cardiology.
Shyam Gollakota, a professor of computer science at UW and co-author of the new report, said: ‘We have Google and Alexa everywhere in our homes. We use them mainly to wake us up in the morning or play music. The question we asked is whether we can use the smart speaker for something useful. ”
Researchers believe that smart speaker manufacturers can integrate the new heartbeat detection features into their products via software updates. The system works by sending out audio signals in the room at a volume that people cannot hear as the pulse bounces back to the speaker. An algorithm then identifies knock patterns generated from a human chest wall. A second algorithm then determines the time between two heartbeats.
This information, called inter-beat intervals, can help physicians determine how well an individual’s heart is functioning. Researchers have trained smart speakers to pick up regular and irregular heart rhythms.
Read more at the Washington Post here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News who discusses issues of freedom of speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at [email protected]