Evaluation of wearable consumer heart rate monitors based on photoplethysmography

Wearable monitoring of heart rate (HR) during physical activity and exercising allows real time control of exercise intensity and training effect. Recently, technologies based on pulse plethysmography (PPG) have become available for personal health management for consumers. However, the accuracy of these monitors is poorly known which limits their application. In this study, we evaluated accuracy of two PPG based (wrist i.e. Mio Alpha vs forearm i.e. Schosche Rhythm) commercially available HR monitors during exercise. 21 healthy volunteers (15 male and 6 female) completed an exercise protocol which included sitting, lying, walking, running, cycling, and some daily activities involving hand movements. HR estimation was compared against values from the reference electrocardiogram (ECG) signal. The heart rate estimation reliability scores for <;5% accuracy against reference were following: mio Alpha 77,83% and Scosche Rhytm 76,29%. The estimated results indicate that performance of devices depends on various parameters, including specified activity, sensor type and device placement.