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   The Mio devices are often considered the best HRM…but the underlying stuff is really Philips
   ……
   
   
   PERFORMANCE-LEVEL CONTINUOUSHEART RATE TECHNOLOGY
   
   Mio Continuous Technology can be found in all Mio products. This award-winning, patented technology reads EKG-accurate heart rate data at performance level speeds without the need for a chest strap.
   
   
   
   
   
   OUR TECHNOLOGY:
   UNDER THE HOOD
   Developed together with Philips, our performance level continuous optical heart rate sensors measure your heartbeat in real-time using two green LEDs and an electro-optical cell.
   
   Integrated into the back plate of a wristband or watch, the LEDs shine light into the skin, which enables the electro-optical cell to detect your pulsing volume of blood flow.
   
   
   INNOVATION:
   OUR SECRET SAUCE
   While optical heart rate measurement (OHR) has been used in hospitals for years, it hasn’t been suitable for active situations due to the disturbance of ‘noise’ generated by movement.With the help of our friends at Philips, we created a solution to cancel out the ‘noise’ caused by movement, by adding an accelerometer to the OHR sensor package. By doing this, we’ve redirected the movement data into an algorithm, which then gives out a clean heart rate signal in performance scenarios.
   
   
   
   
   CREATING COMFORT IN
   HEART RATE MONITORING
   Before we came along, many runners and cyclists had to wear uncomfortable chest strap-based wireless sensors in order to track and measure their heart rates. While chest straps were effective in reading heart rates, the hassle of wearing them was often too much to handle. Chest straps chafe, feel too restrictive, and often slip out of place – resulting in inaccurate heart rate readings and overall discomfort.
   
   To address the issue of the traditional, cumbersome chest strap, we integrated our optical sensor into the back of our running watches and wristbands.
   
   Today, we're happy to say that because of Mio Continuous Technology, we’ve freed many of the world's runners and cyclists from the dreaded chest strap!
   
   Free me from the chest strap
   
   
   AIRTIGHT ACCURACY
   Mio Continuous Technology is highly comparable to ECG and chest strap solutions. A validation study carried out by Maastricht University concluded an accuracy of -01 ± 0.3bpm (from -0.5 to 0.8bpm) for the OHR component, which is actually higher (p<0.001) than a chest strap solution. Read Maastricht University Validation Study >
   

   jfieb, 19 minutes agoEditDeleteReport

   #6Reply
3. 

   jfiebMember

   
   

   so how did Mio get the technology anyway?
   
   
   
   
   
   Dr. Paolo Di Prodi
   
   Great it's very reassuring to see how crowd-funding can be used to develop medical technology although there's plenty of patent and research into wearable monitoring that is never brought into products because of the market friction.
   Quoting her experience:
   "Almost two years ago while visiting Philips Electronics in the Netherlands, Liz (ceo of mio) met Giuseppe Coppola, a Senior Director in the Philips Group Innovation Team. Just like Liz, Giuseppe had a dream to find the ultimate heart rate monitor technology. He showed Liz a prototype he and his team had been working on that had the potential to make the Alpha watch a reality. Many big companies uncomfortable with the project risk had decided to take a "wait and see approach" to the idea of funding further development of the technology. However, Liz saw substantial promise in the approach and had a great deal of confidence in the research team at Philips. So in a leap of faith she decided to invest. Helping Liz realize her vision are some of the best minds in design, electronics engineering and software ".
   It's incredible how even Philips who had the technology wasn't "comfortable" to test the market! 
   I had a look at the patent database for wrist worn technologies and if somebody wants to have a look here:
   http://www.google.com/patents/US4938228?dq=heart+rate+wrist&hl=en&sa=X&ei=aU8GUbjLJuGK0AX-_IDwCQ&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAg
   there are several related patents, eh mostly from Garmin, Omron, Polar and the usual suspects.