IR LEDs Improve Health and Environment Detection for Wearables

Via photoplethysmography (PPG), red light and infrared LEDs can receive date from the environment and measure biometric data including heart rate, blood oxygen, blood pressure and blood sugar level. Adopting the sensing components to wearable devices enables a wider range of applications with many leading brands working on launching related products.

(Image: Pixabay)

A patent Apple received earlier this year describes how Apple Watch could analyze composition of water and determine the pH level of user’s sweat through the sensing components like short-wave infrared light (SWIR) and infrared LEDs. The paten revealed Apple’s initiation to strengthen health and environment sensing function with its wearable devices.

Infrared LEDs with wavelengths over 1000 nm allow advance sensing function for wearables such as watches and earbuds, helping to monitor various biometric data. By using green LEDs paired with infrared LEDs, heart rate can be detected by measuring the amount of blood flowing through the user’s wrist for a given duration. On the other hand, pairing infrared LEDs with red LEDs will allow these transmitters to obtain blood oxygen levels by measuring the difference between oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin for a given duration.

According to the understanding of LEDinside research division of TrendFroce, infrared LEDs embedded with hearables can detect more accurate biometric data through ears and it could be the next target for big brands.

TrendForce projects PPG revenue to grow from US$38.1 million in 2019 to $63.33 million in 2020, a 66.2% increase YoY. PPG product design is expected to shift from a discrete optical sensor design to a modular one, allowing suppliers to deliver optical components with fewer manufacturing errors and greater ease of integration to wearables brands. Major companies in the PPG supply chain include OSRAM Opto Semiconductors, Lite-on, DOWA, Epistar, Epileds, and Opto Tech.

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