ams OSRAM Vital Sign Monitoring Applications

With the new generation of sensors and algorithms, device manufacturers can now take health monitoring to a new level. These advances are based on special semiconductor sensors and signal processors, tiny chips that perform complex optical or electrical operations. While the implementation of vital signs monitoring at chip scale is new, the principles of the techniques that these chips use to measure vital signs are well established and understood.

Photoplethysmography (PPG) is an optical technology. Light is projected into the body, passing through the skin to reach an artery. A photodiode (light sensor) measures the light reflected from or passing through the blood vessels. When the heart pulses, the artery is forced to expand and fill with blood, absorbing more light. The photodiode detects the periodic rise and fall in reflected/transmitted light levels. This optical signal can be converted into a measurement of heart rate and heart rate variability. Very sensitive and accurate optical systems can also use PPG signals to measure blood pressure. For heart rate measurements, wearable devices generally use a green light emitter.

The same principle measures blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) since oxygenated hemoglobin has a distinctly different light absorption pattern than unoxygenated hemoglobin. SpO2 systems use red and infrared (IR) emitters.

Electrocardiography (ECG) measures the pattern of electrical activity as the heart’s muscles contract and expand to pump blood around the body. This electrical sensing technique may monitor sleep patterns or detect abnormal or irregular heart activity.

Galvanic skin response measurement is another electrical sensing technique that tracks the activity of sweat glands. The outputs of galvanic skin response sensors may be used to monitor the user’s emotional state. Both ECG and galvanic skin response may be implemented with a combination of electrodes and signal-processing circuitry.

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Published: 2022-07-18 | Updated: 2025-12-17