MAX30105 - Heart Rate, Oximeter, Smoke sensor

MAX30105, the sophisticated heart rate, oximeter and smoke/particle sensor

The MAX30105 can be use in fun way to see your heartbeat or making neopixels pulsing in time with your heart. A great sensor for 5V and 3.3 logic plateforms (Arduino, Raspberry-Pi, Pyboard,PYBStick, etc).

This sensor fits 3 LEDs (green, red, infrared) plus photodetectors that are used together to detect the amount of light reflected back to the sensor. That measurement technique is called photoplethysmography (PPG) and is also used to detect the color change of the skin when the heart pulses the blood into the venous system. Just press the sensor on the finger tip and the heartbeat can be mesured.

The MAX30105 can also be used to detects particles in the air (eg: smoke) by measuring the amount of light reflected back to the sensor by the particules. The python library contains an example of such measurement.

The arduino library also include an example to measure the SPO2 (Blood Oxygen Saturation) with this sensor.

Please note that measuring heart rate with the MAX30105 sensor will offer much more reliable readings if you attach the sensor to your fingertip (the fleshy side) with a piece of wire or rubber band looped through the mounting holes on the breakout.

Technical details

• Green, red, and infra-red LEDs
• Photodetectors
• Ambient light rejection
• Temperature sensor
• I2C interface (address 0x57)
• Logic: 3.3V or 5V
• Reverse polarity protection
• Compatible with all models of Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Pyboard, PYBStick, etc
• Dimensions: 19x19x3.2mm
• MAX30105 datasheet (pdf)
  heart rate, oximeter, smoke sensor (datasheet)
• Python library
• Arduino library