Summary of Homebrew Arduino Pulse Monitor (Visualize Your Heartbeat)
This article details a DIY Arduino pulse monitor project, originally intended as an authentic prop for a school film. The guide explains how to construct a sensor using a clothes hanger, LED, and LDR to detect heartbeats and visualize them on a computer. While functional for hobbyist use like a lie detector, the author explicitly states it is not suitable for medical purposes due to a lack of rigorous testing.
Parts used in the Homebrew Arduino Pulse Monitor:
- Grippy Clothes Hanger
- Clear or Bright Red LED
- LDR (Light Dependent Resistor)
- Heavy duty shears
- Multitool
- Hot glue
- Superglue
- Resistor
- 10k trimmer resistor
- Wires
- Arduino board
Movies look cool with those EKG (electrocardiogram), the one that beeps and detects heart activities. A few months ago, we had to shoot a hospital scene for our school project. We needed an EKG instrument. To keep the movie authentic, we didn’t want to fake the readings so we made the next best thing, a pulse monitor. Since my dad is a doctor he gave me some advice to design the pulse monitor.
Let me clarify this to you. This project works and can actually monitor your pulse. Due to the lack of research and experimentation, the homebrew pulse monitor cannot be used for medical purposes.
What Can You Do With It?
You can make a lie detector/ polygraph and tell who’s lying or not. When a person lies, you’ll notice a sudden change on the graph.
What Does This Guide Include?
– Arduino Codes & Processing 2 Codes
– Steps on making a pulse sensor
– The Virtual Graphing Software
– Schematic Diagrams
What Do I Need To Make This Project?
– A Grippy Clothes Hanger
– Clear/ Bright Red LED
– LDR (Light Dependent Resistor)
Future Questions:
Why isn’t mine working? For some reason LDRs (light dependent resistors) are not standard in resistance ratings. You’ll need a some tweaking to pull off the project, it may require experience with Arduinos and electronics.
This project is inspired by Make Magazine’s pulse monitor although my version didn’t use a LM324 Op-Amp chip. Their tutorial will work on my setup.
Step 1: Find The Perfect Colthes Hanger
Step 2: Cut The Clips
Step 3: Disassemble The Clip
Step 4: Drill Holes
Step 5: Install The LDR
Step 6: Install The LED
Step 7: It Doesn’t Work
Step 8: Wire Them Up
Step 9: Download The Softwares
Processing 2 is the graph/ monitor software that will visualize your data while the Arduino IDE is for uploading the arduino sketch. You’ll need both to run the project. Click on the links below to download them.
For more detail: Homebrew Arduino Pulse Monitor (Visualize Your Heartbeat)
- What can you do with this pulse monitor?
You can make a lie detector or polygraph to tell if someone is lying by noticing sudden changes on the graph. - Can this device be used for medical purposes?
No, the homebrew pulse monitor cannot be used for medical purposes due to a lack of research and experimentation. - Why isn't my project working?
LDRs are not standard in resistance ratings, so you may need to tweak the setup and have experience with Arduinos. - What type of clothes hanger works best?
This project works best with rubber padded hangers, such as those from Marks & Spencer. - How do I protect the LED from getting busted?
You should add a resistor to protect the LED when installing it with superglue. - Is a PCB necessary for wiring the components?
No, PCBs or perfboards are not necessary; wires will work just fine. - Which software is needed to visualize the data?
You need Processing 2 to visualize the data and the Arduino IDE to upload the sketch. - What component is recommended for R3 in the amplification circuit?
It is best to use a 10k trimmer resistor for R3 rather than a fixed value resistor.
