New wearable heart fitness monitor changes the game for everyday athletes
Unrivalled real-time heart performance readings and post-workout assessments are now possible thanks to the innovative new “HeartBit” T-shirt with sensors measuring heart function using ECG technology.
In the wake of COVID-19, more people are taking up exercise than ever and realising its benefits, with recent studies suggesting over half of Brits have taken up a new form of exercise in lockdown, and that the vast majority want to continue their new regime in the “new normal”. Thus, on a mission to make people care more about the health of their heart, health tech startup HeartBit has launched a Kickstarter campaign after four years of development of their wearable heart fitness monitor.
The team behind HeartBit has over 50 years of experience in cardiovascular health, electrocardiography (ECG) and body surface mapping, and have worked with a team of medical experts to bring HeartBit to life. The brainchild of co-founders George Kozmann, Gabor Szabo and Gabor Vilhelm, HeartBit allows anyone from marathon runners to Sunday morning dog walkers to reach their fitness goals faster with detailed insight.
George Kozmann, CTO and Co-Founder of HeartBit commented: “The idea of HeartBit came to mind during a running session whilst I was using a well-known running app. I was aware I was showing some physical symptoms of my childhood epilepsy, but the application did not pick up on this – it wasn’t properly measuring my actual physical state in the detail I needed. This inspired the creation of a real-time, physical activity-based monitoring system which is able to evaluate results and warn if the user’s physical activity is becoming harmful.”
The smart activewear takes the form of a t-shirt with four sensors placed at certain body locations, linked to an app that monitors the heart using electrocardiogram (ECG) technology, processing 500 data points every second in order to give the user unrivalled data on their fitness performance.
HeartBit monitors the heart muscle activity with a 3-lead ECG – delivering reports that makers claim are 500 times more detailed than those of competitors. In comparison to popular wrist-based fitness trackers, HeartBit can provide continuous ECG tracking and ECG waveform analysis, as well as real-time feedback for effort and strain. The smart t-shirt can be worn as a base layer or on its own. Its app, compatible with iOS and Android devices, creates a “user profile” based on heart performance.
Kickstarter backers can pledge $195 (early bird price), which comes with the main t-shirt, charging equipment, and gel for the sensors.
Gabor Vilhelm, CEO and Co-Founder added: “We are extremely pleased to be launching the Kickstarter campaign for HeartBit. The concept was born over four years ago and we have been developing the device ever since. The final product is exactly what we imagined and fills the gap in the market that inspired HeartBit. We wanted to tap into a growing enthusiasm for running and other cardio exercise, empowering people to achieve their fitness goals, whilst monitoring their most important organ.”
Future developments and feature on the horizon include:
- Adding new training types other than running (ie. cycling)
- Compatibility with smart watches
- Ability to feed Heartbit data to IOS and Android default Health applications (GoogleFit, HealthKit)
- Standardised training plans to better understand and measure fitness improvement
- Spotify integration
- Communication with Strava, Mapmyrun, Runtastic, Endomondo, Flo etc.
- Social elements including friends lists and shareable achievements
- Training progress reports
- Language localisation: Spanish, German, French etc.
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Key selling points:
- Accurate heart performance readings in real time
- Post-work assessments delivered through the app
- Ability to map runs, tracking calories burned and distance travelled
