Now, headsets to measure your heart rate

A startup company Cosinuss has showcased a headset that helps you measure your heart rate.

Instead of a loudspeaker, C-SP 01 contains a sensor that can measure heartbeats optically, detecting the rush of blood under the skin inside the ear. It's based on the same principle as the fingertip heart-rate monitors used in hospitals.

Future versions will also be able to measure core body temperature and, with the addition of another LED and photodiode to the sensor pack, blood oxygen saturation too, said CFO Greta Kreuzer.

The case containing the micro-USB recharging socket and the battery fits behind the ear. It also houses the electronics that track the arrival of each surge of blood in the vessels beneath the skin, deciding at what moment to count a heartbeat, and calculating the heart rate from that.

The heart-rate monitor can transmit information to smartphones that support the Bluetooth Low Energy standard, or to devices with an ANT+ interface. ANT+ is an ultra-low-power wireless protocol supported by many health and fitness monitoring devices, and also by the Galaxy S4 and S5 smartphones from Samsung Electronics.

Cosinuss is aiming to bring the product to market in the fourth quarter, with a target retail price of 150 Euros, Kreuzer said.