- Special Pages A Fujitsu engineer demonstrates a real-time
pulse monitor system with facial imaging technology that
utilises a web-camera in PCs or smartphones, at the company’s
headquarters in Tokyo, yesterday. TOKYO: A smartphone that can
take the pulse of a user just by looking at his or her face was
unveiled in Japan yesterday. Technology giant Fujitsu plans to
put the invention to practical use within a year, enabling
people at work or at home to track their health and collect data
for analysis without wearing special devices. The smartphone
works by measuring variations in the brightness of a person’s
face caused by the flow of blood. Researchers say countless tiny
blood vessels run through the face, enabling monitoring of
haemoglobin which absorbs green light. Haemoglobin is a protein
found in red blood cells that contains iron and transports
oxygen. Simply pointing a camera at a person’s face for as
little as five seconds will enable pulse-taking, while the
technology automatically filters out the ef