The validity of 13 commercially available heart rate (HR) monitors was assessed by comparing the monitored values with simultaneous ECG readings.

Wearable products have changed the focus of the healthcare industry to prevention programmes that enable people to become active and take responsibility for their own health, but only if they wear the device consistently.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy, precision, and overall performance of seventeen wearable devices currently available compared with direct observation of step counts and heart rate monitoring.

The validity of wearable photoplethysmographic heart rate monitoring was tested on forty-seven healthy participants performing seven, 6-min exercise bouts and a valid skin type scale.

In this review, a brief history of PPG and recent developments in wearable pulse rate sensors and the application of wearable pulse rate monitors is discussed.