Development of an Internet of Things Based Heart Rate Monitoring System

Heart diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Therefore, there is the need for a device that can track the heart performance to provide insights on those conditions such as abnormal heart rates which require urgent medical attention and can result in loss of life. This work developed an internet of things (IoT) based heart rate monitoring system. The key components of the system developed include a pulse sensor (SEN-11574), an arduino uno microcontroller, a liquid crystal display (LCD) module, ESP-8266 Wi-Fi module, 18650 batteries and light emitting diodes (LEDs). Using appropriate design models and relevant mathematical algorithms, circuit designs were accomplished with a microcontroller as the central component. A wireless data transmission unit was created using ESP-8266 Wi-Fi module and Thingspeak platform. Performance test was carried out on each of the subunits of the developed system. Heart rate measurement test was conducted on thirty (30) people and compared with the measurements from an existing heart rate monitor (Apple watch series 7) to determine the reading error of the device. The results of the performance test showed that the developed system operated as intended. The device’s reading error was 3.11% for readings obtained while at rest and 3.89% for readings obtained after exercise. The test results also showed that there was unusual rising of the pulse rate after exercise; causing random beat per minute values. The developed system could be deployed for remote health monitoring applications in personal residences, hospitals, health centres and rural areas.