‘Breathe Coach’ App Uses Smartphone Camera to Monitor Heart Rate, Breathing Patterns

meQuilibrium has released a new Breathe Coach solution that is designed to make it easier for people to relax. The solution has been integrated into meQuilibrium’s mobile app, and uses a standard smartphone camera to track someone’s heart rate and breath patterns.

Breathe Coach is specifically designed to help people with resonance breathing, a technique in which someone tries to align their breath with their heartbeat. The technique is supposed to balance the nervous system, lower stress levels, and generate a relaxation response in the mind and body.

meQuillibirum users can access Breathe Coach through the mobile app. Once activated, users simply need to position themselves in front of their smartphone, and the selfie camera will analyze their heart rate and breath patterns. The results will be displayed on the screen in real time to provide users with a visual representation of their circulatory and respiratory systems. The app also offers guides to help people practice resonance breathing, and can track someone’s heart rate variability (HRV) and their resonance breathing progress over time.

“Our new biometric technology integrates the physical with emotional and mental wellbeing, teaching users how to relax on command and manage other symptoms using the camera and screen of a smartphone,” said meQuilibrium Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer Adam Perlman. “Breathe Coach unlocks the power of HRV and resonance breathing to train the mind and body to keep stress at bay.”

According to meQuilibrium, its wellness app (and the new Breathe Coach) can increase productivity and prevent burnout for people working in high-stress jobs at Fortune 500 companies. The company’s use of a smartphone camera as a breath sensor reflects the growing interest in alternative health tracking methods. Apple is rumored to be developing AirPods that use microphones to measure respiratory rate, while Medibio’s Luca mobile app generates a daily stress score to help people identify their stress triggers.

(Originally posted on FindBiometrics)