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Creators of heart rate monitor made in RIT engineering lab hope to help in COVID-19 fight


The product was developed in an RIT engineering lab (WHAM file photo)
The product was developed in an RIT engineering lab (WHAM file photo)
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Henrietta, N.Y. - RIT is hoping a tool developed in one of its research labs could help in the fight against the coronavirus.

Start-up company VPG Medical, which has connections with the college and the University of Rochester Medical Center, has developed a tool called the HealthKam. The Android app uses a phone’s front camera to monitor a person’s heart rate.

The app isn’t meant to be a diagnostic tool, but its developers hope it can keep users aware about heart rate information and help them learn.

One thing that can raise a person’s heart rate is a fever – one of the coronavirus’ symptoms. The programs makers hope that being able to help a person detect a fever could, in turn, help them determine if they may have the virus.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is a health emergency, and many of our older and immunocompromised neighbors will be largely staying home in the upcoming months,” VPG Medical CEO Jean Philippe Couderc said in a statement. “We wanted to provide an advanced and simple technology for helping them and the ones close to their heart to have insight into their health status, and particularly signs of possible fevers.”

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