DIY Heartbeat Sensor Using Arduino and LCD Display: A Step-by-Step Guide

Have you ever wondered why monitoring your heart rate is essential? Your heart rate plays a crucial role in maintaining good health. And thanks to the latest technology, monitoring your heart rate has become easier than ever with electrical equipment like the heartbeat sensor.

What is a Heartbeat Sensor?

The heartbeat sensor is an electrical device that measures the heart rate, the number of pulses per minute. This device is commonly used by medical professionals, athletes, and anyone who wants to keep track of their heart rate for health reasons.

Why is Monitoring Heart Rate Important?

Adults’ healthy and comfortable heart rate ranges from 60 to almost 100 times per minute. A lower resting heart rate indicates more effective heart function and better overall health. However, tachycardia, a quick relaxing heart rate, usually above 100 beats per minute, can be critical, depending on its underlying principles and how severely the heart works. This condition significantly raises the chance of stroke, sudden cardiac arrest, and death. Hence, monitoring your heart rate is essential for maintaining good health.

Heart Rate measurement in two different ways:

Heart rate is essential to maintaining good health, and there are two ways to measure it. The first method is manually verifying the pulse at the wrists or neck. This method is only sometimes accurate and can be affected by various factors such as age, body position, and physical activity.

The second method uses a Heartbeat Sensor, a more accurate way of measuring heart rate. The sensor uses electrical impulses to measure the heart rate, the number of pulses per minute. The device is widely used by athletes, medical professionals, and anyone who wants to keep track of their heart rate for health reasons.

The working principle of the Heartbeat Sensor is quite simple. The device detects the electrical signals generated by the heart muscles and converts them into digital signals. The device then processes this signal, which calculates the heart rate and displays it on the screen.

The Benefits of Using a Heartbeat Sensor

Using a Heartbeat Sensor has many benefits, including:

1. Accuracy: The sensor provides accurate and reliable readings, making it an excellent tool for monitoring heart rate.
2. Convenience: The sensor is small and portable, making it easy to carry around and use whenever you need to check your heart rate.
3. Health Monitoring: Using the sensor, you can monitor your heart rate and track changes over time, which can help detect potential health problems.
4. Training: Athletes and fitness enthusiasts can use the sensor to monitor their heart rate during workouts and training, allowing them to optimize their performance.

Heart rate monitoring is a critical aspect of maintaining good health. There are different ways to measure heart rate, but using a heartbeat sensor is one of the most accurate and convenient methods. In this project, we will use an Arduino and a heartbeat sensor to monitor heart rate.’

Components Required For This Project

The following Components are Required to build this project. If you want to buy it, an online link is given with each component.

Circuit Diagram:

The circuit diagram of the project’s heartbeat sensor using Arduino is given.

Wire the circuit according to the above figure, and use precisely the same components.

Principle of Heartbeat Sensor:

The Heartbeat Sensor uses a process called Photoplethysmograph to measure changes in blood volume in the body. This means that the sensor uses changes in light to detect the blood volume changes in the body. Two types of sensors can be used: Transmissive and Reflective Sensors.

• With the Transmissive Sensor, the light source and the detector face each other, and the person’s finger is placed between them. The sensor measures the changes in the amount of light that passes through the finger as the blood volume changes.

• With the Reflective Sensor, the light source and the detector are placed next to each other, and the person’s finger is placed on top of the sensor. The sensor measures the changes in the amount of light reflected from the finger as the blood volume changes.

The circuit diagram for the Heartbeat Sensor using Arduino is provided above. You can follow the diagram to set up the circuit with the same components to ensure accurate results.

Working of the Circuit

• Based on this data, the Arduino board measures the heart rate and displays the heartbeat in beats per minute (bpm) on the connected LCD screen. It is essential to keep your finger still and not shake the wires during the process to avoid incorrect readings.
• You must upload the code to the Arduino Uno board to make the circuit work. Once the code is uploaded, place any finger except the thumb on the sensor clip. The heartbeat sensor will then collect the data from the finger and send it to the Arduino board.
• If you need to take another reading, press the reset button, and the process will start again. The results may appear washed out on the LCD screen, so it is essential to read them carefully.

Step by Step Procedure

Working of Heartbeat Sensor using Arduino with LCD Display:

The working image of the heartbeat sensor using Arduino shows how the different components are connected and how they work together to measure a person’s heart rate. The heartbeat sensor is placed on the finger, and the light emitted from the LED passes through the finger and is detected by the photodiode. This data is sent to the Arduino board, where it is processed to calculate the person’s heart rate.

The LCD screen displays the heart rate in beats per minute (bpm). When the sensor is placed on the finger, the heart rate data is displayed on the serial monitor of the Arduino. Then, by connecting the LCD screen to the Arduino, the heart rate can also be displayed on the screen.

Overall, the working image of the heartbeat sensor using Arduino helps us understand how the different components are connected and work together to measure a person’s heart rate.

Suggestions: Wifi Control robot Using Arduino.

Application for Developing Your Heartbeat Sensor System:

To make your heartbeat sensor system, you can use essential components like an LDR, Op-amp IC LM358, and a Microcontroller, as explained here.

As already explained, the principle behind a heartbeat sensor is the photoplethysmography method, where the light is passed through the finger tissue, and the light detector collects the modulated light. Here, an LDR is used as a light detector, which operates on the principle that the resistance of the resistor changes when light falls on it. The voltage across the resistor decreases as the light energy increases, which reduces resistance.

The output of the LDR is then compared to the threshold voltage using an op-amp LM358, which acts as a comparator. The inverting pin of the op-amp is connected to the potential divider system, which is set to the threshold voltage, while the non-inverting pin is connected to the LDR. When a human finger is placed over the LDR, the resistance of the LDR increases due to the reduction in light intensity. As a result, the voltage drop across the LDR increases, causing the op-amp output to go high.

The high and low pulses obtained using the op-amp can be applied to the microcontroller to calculate the heartbeat rate. To display the results better, a code can be prepared for the microcontroller to show the results on an LCD screen.

Overall, you can develop your heartbeat sensor system by using these essential components and understanding the principle behind photoplethysmography.

Heartbeat Sensor Arduino Code:

You can download the code from this link Click here.

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