Heart sensor clips six months off product design times

The turnkey drop-in module includes built-in algorithms for heart-rate and oxygen-saturation (SpO₂) monitoring, as well as advanced activity classification.

Its small size and ease of design enable innovative biosensing features in less space and support the rapid development of accurate, continuous health-monitoring devices.

The MAXM86146 offers designers of advanced wearable products the ability to achieve a 45 % thinner optical design versus a discrete approach.

Additionally, the module offers ready-to-use biosensing algorithms that measure vital signs to the most rigorous medical standards, allowing even more time to develop market-differentiating features.

It saves designers up to six months in bringing new products to market and provides extra time and space to expand functionality.

The module enables lighter, more compact power-efficient devices and combines two photodiodes, an optical AFE and a microcontroller with built-in algorithms (activity classification, heart rate, SpO₂) in a 0.88mm package.

The module has ready-to-go algorithms that measure key vital signs, developers can focus on expanding functionality instead of algorithm development.

“By cutting our development time, Maxim Integrated’s state-of-the-art optical sensor solution enabled us to leap-frog the competition by allowing us to focus on new feature introductions,” said Satish Movva, founder and CEO of CarePredict. “In addition, caregivers got unprecedented remote access to the activity and behavior indicators of seniors through the CarePredict wearable to help manage their health conditions from afar.”

“Design space and time-to-market are at a premium for designers of next-generation wearable healthcare monitors,” said Andrew Baker, managing director, Industrial and Healthcare Business Unit at Maxim Integrated. “With the world’s thinnest dual-photodetector optical sensor solution, we enable greater capacity for designers to rapidly introduce innovative capabilities.” 

The MAXM86146CFU+ is available from Maxim and authorised distributors, as is the MAXM86146EVSYS# evaluation kit.