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It looks like an ordinary pulse oximeter, which are used by medical staff in hospitals to monitor the oxygen saturation levels in patients (The percentage of oxygen levels stored in the blood, which is normally about 96%+). So unless you’ve been holding your breath for 20 minutes or are playing your Wii while your living room is on fire and your inhaling smoke, it’s not going to say much of anything! Most pulse oximeters measure heart rates too, but these can be susceptible to noise if the user is moving around a lot.
Also, doctors tend not to use pulse oximeters when measuring patients’ heart rates, as you cant guarantee correctness. Since the finger is an extremity it is prone to getting cold, which can have a negative effect on the readings. Also, if the finger is elevated, it may also have a negative effect. These are all things medical staff are trained to look out for when they’re doing their rounds and recording vitals. Instead ECG is used to monitor a patient’s heart rate, as its more reliable and advanced (a history graph can be useful for classification purposes).
These seems pointless for the end user in my opinion. When used with Wii fit, its only going to tell you what you already know, which is – I’ve been jumping around my living room for an hour, so of course my heart rate is going to be up.
Whats next?