With three sensors

May 31, 2005 20:34 GMT  ·  By

From now on you won't have to worry about the health of your elderly relatives or of those suffering from heart diseases. Hitachi developed a handset capable of a wireless connection and which can be wore as a watch.

Having three sensors, one for pulse, one for temperature and one constantly measuring the owner's movement, the new gadget allows the user to constantly monitor the owner's state of health.

This device has a weight of 50 grams and the dimensions 6 x 4 x 1.5 cm; besides the three sensors, it also includes a wireless communication module, a compact LCD screen and a battery pack.

In stand-by, the device has a power consumption rate of 3muW, and 60muW during operation. In order to get have a better idea of the battery's performance, if you measure your pulse every hour, you won't have to change it for a month.

"We have managed to pack so many capabilities into a single case as small as a wristwatch, by designing each circuit to reduce the number of components," said Kazuo Yano, laboratory manager, Human Intelligence Laboratory, Advanced Research Laboratory, Hitachi.

The company intents to launch this product sometimes during the next three years, the targeted market segment being the healthcare service industry for the elderly people.