Tag Archives: reference app

Check your heart rate – another thing the iPhone camera can do

What is that little red light up thingy with the wire that the hospital folks put on your finger? They say it is what is telling the machine your heart rate. OK… that’s cool.

Maybe on this holiday, your wondering if all the family fun is getting your heart rate up. Now, you can check with your iPhone’s camera. An app I grabbed, with a proper name of Instant Heart Rate fills in the gap between your finger and what your iPhone’s camera sees. Just launch the app, aim your iPhone’s camera at your finger tip… within 10 seconds you will know your heart rate. No joke… it really works, this is NOT a comic gag app!

With my iPhone4, the LED ‘flash’ lights up to help the camera ‘see’ inside of the finger. If you have an iPhone or iPad with no flash, they suggest using the app in better light. The Instant Heard Rate app offers to keep track of your Heart Rate recordings in the app, this is nice. It also offers to store the history on the developer’s site… not sure I want my heart rate history out in the wild, thanks. I’ll keep using it as a stand along iPhone app though since it’s nice to know how I did after my walk or when a relative makes a wise crack!