Working of heart beat sensor

The non-invasive type of optical heart rate sensor consists of an electronic circuit that monitors heartbeat by clipping
onto a finger tip. It does this by shining light into (or through) the finger and measuring how much light is reflected
(or absorbed). This goes up and down as blood is pumped through the finger. Usually a clever combination of an
infrared light sender and a light receiver is used for the operation.
 

 
The principle behind the working of the Heartbeat Sensor is Photoplethysmograph. According to this principle, the
changes in the volume of blood in an organ is measured by the changes in the intensity of the light passing through
that organ.

Usually, the source of light in a heartbeat sensor would be an IR LED and the detector would be any Photo Detector
like a Photo Diode, an LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) or a Photo Transistor.

With these two i.e. a light source and a detector, we can arrange them in two ways: A Transmissive Sensor and a
Reflective Sensor.

In a Transmissive Sensor, the light source and the detector are place facing each other and the finger of the person
must be placed in between the transmitter and receiver.

Reflective Sensor, on the other hand, has the light source and the detector adjacent to each other and the finger of the
person must be placed in front of the sensor.  The principle behind the working of the Heartbeat Sensor is
Photoplethysmograph. According to this principle, the changes in the volume of blood in an organ is measured by the
changes in the intensity of the light passing through that organ. Usually, the source of light in a heartbeat sensor
would be an IR LED and the detector would be any Photo Detector like a Photo Diode, an LDR (Light Dependent
Resistor) or a Photo Transistor.

With these two i.e. a light source and a detector, we can arrange them in two ways: A Transmissive Sensor and a
Reflective Sensor. In a Transmissive Sensor, the light source and the detector are place facing each other and the
finger of the person must be placed in between the transmitter and receiver.
Following figure shows signal of heart beat and sensor signal output graph.
Fig.2 shows actual heart beat received by detector (Yellow) and the trigger
point of sensor (Red) after which the sensor outputs digital signal (Blue) at 5V
level.

FIGURE 2 SIGNAL VIEW

Fig.3 shows target pulse rates for people aged between 20 and 70. The target range is the
pulse rate needed in order to provide suitable exercise for the heart. For a 25-year old, this
range is about 140-170 beats per minute while for a 60-year old it is typically between 115
and 140 beats per minute.