ProtoCentral Electronics Private Limited
Bio Sensing
HealthyPi v4 - Unplugged
A wireless, wearable, open source vital signs monitor powered by ESP32
ProtoCentral Electronics Private Limited
Bio Sensing
Reliable health monitoring has traditionally required that we tether ourselves to machines capable of recording our vital signs around the clock. Outside of a clinical setting, however, this is rarely practical. We developed HealthyPi v4 in part to address this challenge. Building upon its predecessor, HealthyPi v4 is a fully open source, standalone vital signs monitor with wireless and wearable capabilities.¹
HealthyPi v4 measures the following parameters in real-time and with high accuracy:
HealthyPi v4 sets a new standard for mobility, wearability, and wireless connectivity. By enabling continuous, real time monitoring of physiological data, it not only provides valuable insight into health and wellness indicators, it opens the door to areas of research that were not previously accessible.
HealthyPi v4 also includes an on-board power management system for use with a rechargeable Lithium Polymer (LiPo) battery, making it a truly wearable development platform. A simple physical switch can be used to toggle between continuous mode, for use as a Raspberry Pi HAT, and wearable mode, which allows HealthyPi v4 to function as a standalone unit.
HealthyPi v4 makes it easy to monitor vitals. Just download the HealthyPi v4 app for Android and connect through BLE. HealthyPi v4 devices will appear on the homepage of the app. After you select a device, heart rate, respiration rate, temperature and SpO₂ levels will be displayed. An additional screen renders the real-time ECG waveform. The HealthyPi v4 is also compatible with several standard heart rate monitor apps.
Activating webserver mode allows you to stream live data over the local network. Simply push a button while starting up the device, and it will enter Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) mode. You can then connect to the "HealthyPi" Wi-Fi network using your computer or mobile device and point your browser to http://Healthypi.local. The HealthyPi home page will display live vitals as well as plots. This page also provides Over-The-Air (OTA) software and firmware updates.
HealthyPi v4 maintains full compatibility with HealthyPi v3 through its continuous mode, which streams real-time data to a Processing-based application that is compatible with Raspberry Pi devices and desktop platforms (including Mac, Windows, and Linux). Upon successful connection, ECG, respiration, and PPG data will be displayed along with computed heart rate, respiration rate, SpO₂, and temperature readings.
HealthyPi v4 ships with firmware that enables all of this funcitonality out-of-the-box. If you want to make changes to the firmware, however, you will find the Arduino IDE – which is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux – easy-to-use for beginners but flexible enough for advanced users. In addition to Arduino IDE, HealthyPi v4 also supports Espressif IDF, so you can code in whichever environment you prefer.
We have been working behind the scenes on Arduino C++ helper libraries and will share additional examples sketches and original hardware schematics on our GitHub repo once the campaign has ended.
Below are a few key similarities and differences between the HealthyPi v4 and the HealthyPi v3:
| HealthyPi v4 | HealthyPi v3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Code Transparency | Open Source | Open Source |
| CPU | ESP32 WROOM32 - dual-core 32-bit Xtensa | Atmel ATSAMD21 (Cortex M0+) |
| Program Memory | 4 MB flash | 256 KB flash |
| RAM | 520 KB RAM | 32 KB SRAM |
| Wireless Capability | On-board Wi-Fi & BLE | None |
| Other Connectivity | USB, Qwiic | USB |
| On-Board Charging | Present | Not present |
| Power Source | Rechargeable LiPo battery with on-board USB charging | No battery support |
| Operating Mode | No Raspberry Pi or USB connection required | For use with a Raspberry Pi or a USB connection to a desktop application |
| User Interface | Processing-based GUI, Android App, web interface | Processing-based GUI |
| Price | $199 | $249 |
Each HAT Kit includes:
This kit has all you need to quickly put together a standalone monitor. Each kit contains everything in the HAT Kit, plus:
You can find up-to-date HealthyPi v4 documentation at healthypi.protocentral.com. Please let us know if you can’t find what you’re looking for!
Our team, which is based in Bangalore, India, has expertise in hardware testing and inspection. We also have our own manufacturing facility, which is equipped to handle both assembly and testing of the HealthyPi v4 hardware.
We are sourcing HealthyPi v4 components from well-known vendors, including Espressif, TI, Digi-Key, and Mouser. This includes smaller components, such as capacitors and resistors, which helps us ensure quality, consistency, and reproducibility. We have run a number of Crowd Supply campaigns – including HealthyPi v3, HeartyPatch, and Sensything – all of which were successfully funded, manufactured, and delivered to backers.
As you might imagine, based on the above list of related projects, we have already been through several prototyping stages. After many iterations, we believe we have arrived at the perfect balance of performance and ease-of-use.
Due to the high cost of shipping, and given the high volume of orders expected, the amazing people at Crowd Supply will be handling fulfilment. All orders will ship from Crowd Supply’s warehouses in the United States.
Please see the Crowd Supply Guide if you have questions about shipping. Backers are responsible for paying import duties and taxes, if applicable.
Having our own in-house production capability greatly reduces the risks associated with quality control and testing. If we exceed capacity, we have strong relationships with reliable, China-based assembly and production partners. HealthyPi v4 has been through many different hardware iterations and has survived repeated rounds of testing with different components, all of which bodes well for the reliability of its design.
While all hardware projects are exposed to the risks associated with component shortages, shipping delays, and equipment breakdown, we have learned a great deal from previous projects. We are familiar with the factors that can cause delays, and we take preemptive action to avoid them. We will do our best to resolve any such issues quickly and will always keep you updated about changes to our estimated schedule.
Although HealthyPi v4 has many of the features of a medical-grade patient monitoring system, it does NOT have any certifications (FDA, CE, IEC, etc.) and is NOT officially approved for medical or diagnostic use. It is your responsibility to ensure your safety when using the device. Furthermore, you should never power the device from a non-isolated power source.
"Both the BLE-connected Android app and GUI display can stream continuous readouts of ECG, respiration, and PPG data, as well as computed heart rate, respiration rate, SpO₂, and temperature readings."
Produced by ProtoCentral Electronics Private Limited in Bengaluru, India.
Sold and shipped by Crowd Supply.
Everything in the HAT Kit, plus: a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ computer, a 16 GB microSD card with Raspbian and Healthy Pi software, a seven-inch Raspberry Pi touchscreen LCD display, and a SmartiPi Touch enclosure for both the display and the Pi. Includes an isolated, medical-grade USB wall power adapter with plugs for the following regions: US, EU and UK. ($50 off the full campaign price and $100 off the post-campaign retail price of $449.)
A HealthyPi v4 and all of the accessories you will need to use it: a three-electrode ECG "snap connector" cable, a 1000 mAh LiPo battery, 20 single-use ECG electrodes, a finger-clip SpO₂ probe, a Qwiic-based temperature sensor, and a HAT mounting kit with headers and screws for stacking your HealthyPi v4 atop a Raspberry Pi.
Everything in the HAT Kit, plus: a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ computer, a 16 GB microSD card with Raspbian and Healthy Pi software, a seven-inch Raspberry Pi touchscreen LCD display, and a SmartiPi Touch enclosure for both the display and the Pi. Includes an isolated, medical-grade USB wall power adapter with plugs for the following regions: US, EU, UK, and AU.
A HealthyPi v4 and all of the accessories you will need to use it: a three-electrode ECG "snap connector" cable, a 1000 mAh LiPo battery, 20 single-use ECG electrodes, a finger-clip SpO₂ probe, a Qwiic-based temperature sensor, and a HAT mounting kit with headers and screws for stacking your HealthyPi v4 atop a Raspberry Pi. ($30 off the regular campaign price and $80 off the post-campaign retail price of $249.)
· Protocentral · protocentral · protocentral@mastodon.social · protocentral.com
ProtoCentral is an open-source hardware design, development, and manufacturing company based in India. We are strongly committed to the development of open source hardware. Most of our products are open source and anyone is free to re-use them for their own projects. We are also working toward open sourcing more hardware, especially for the medical and biotech domains.
