Imagine if your Sonos speakers could listen for heart abnormalities and warn you ahead of time so you could seek care.

This technology could soon become a reality, and a potential life saving tool, for millions worldwide.

New research from the University of Washington is paving the way for smart speakers to monitor heart rhythms in our homes. If further developed and approved for clinical and consumer use, this technology could have many benefits. 

Consider the possibilities when someone is infectious, during routine virtual healthcare treatment from a person’s home, when either physician or patient is in a rural or remote setting, when transportation to an office or clinic is costly or impractical, and in cases where people cannot tolerate contact-based devices.

Published in Communications Biology, the University of Washington’s research has validated a proof-of-concept system using a smart speaker and sophisticated signal processing as a short-range near-ultrasonic sonar device to measure heart rate and the R-R interval (the time between heartbeats) in both healthy individuals and those with various cardiac abnormalities. The system sends coded high frequencies (18–22kHz) through the speaker and listens on the microphone array for the surface reflections, detecting the minute surface pulsations that occur with each heartbeat.  

Researchers focused on two small groups: one of 26 participants with no history of cardiac conditions, and another of 24 hospitalized cardiac patients. The results showed the system could measure heart rate and R-R interval with high accuracy and precision. Results also indicated it could detect when the R-R interval was highly variable, as in atrial fibrillation (heart rhythm disorder). 

Researchers found that the system, as configured, was not viable for a small group of people with extreme obesity. This was likely because the excessive adipose tissue (body fat) was dampening the motion of the heart on the surface that it was designed to measure.

Researchers have previously shown that smart speakers and mobile devices combined with clever algorithms can be used to observe what is happening in a room, including monitoring the movement and breathing of a sleeping baby, detecting an opioid overdose, or identifying early warning signs of cardiac arrest. This technology has the potential to accomplish much more.

Imagine the possibilities of an inexpensive smart speaker device that monitors heart rhythms over time — one that’s available to anyone who needs it, anywhere. 

It could lead to earlier detection and treatment. It would also make it easier for doctors to design a highly personalized monitoring plan for each individual. Such a device could be a game changer for physicians and patients alike.