Tuesday, November 5, 2024
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Future Mac laptops could sport bio-sensors for measuring a user’s health

FIG. 1A depicts a Mac laptop having an integrated bio-sensor.

Apple has been implement more health features into the iPhone and, especially, the Apple Watch. Macs could also be getting more health features. Apple has filed for a patent (number 20210386363) for a “portable electronic device having an integrated bio-sensor.

About the patent filing

Portable electronic devices, including notebook computers, tablet computers, and mobile phones, have become common and useful devices. Many traditional portable electronic devices are configured to receive input using a keyboard or similar input device. However, Apple says that few, if any, traditional notebook computers include sophisticated sensors or sensing techniques to monitor the user. 

The idea behind the company’s new patent filing is directed to systems and techniques for integrating a bio-sensor into a surface of a portable electronic device such as a Mac laptop. The sensor would measure a user’s heart rate, a respiration rate, blood oxygenation level, blood volume estimate, and a blood pressure. The Mac would alert the user if anything seemed amiss.

Summary of the patent filing

Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “An electronic device includes a translucent layer that forms a portion of an exterior of the electronic device, an opaque material positioned on the translucent layer that defines micro-perforations, and a processing unit operable to determine information about a user via the translucent layer. The processing unit may be operable to determine the information by transmitting optical energy through a first set of the micro-perforations into a body part of the user, receiving a reflected portion of the optical energy from the body part of the user through a second set of the micro-perforations, and analyzing the reflected portion of the optical energy.”

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.