Heart Rate Monitors

Under a NASA grant, Dr. Robert M. Davis and Dr. William M. Portnoy came up with a new type of electrocardiographic electrode that would enable long term use on astronauts. Their invention was an insulated capacitive electrode constructed of a thin dielectric film. NASA subsequently licensed the electrode technology to Richard Charnitski, inventor of the VersaClimber, who founded Heart Rate, Inc., to further develop and manufacture personal heart monitors and to produce exercise machines using the technology for the physical fitness, medical and home markets. Same technology is on both the Home and Institutional Model VersaClimbers. On the Home Model an infrared heart beat transmitter is worn under exercise clothing. Transmitted heart rate is used to control the work intensity on the VersaClimber using the heart rate as the speedometer of the exercise. This offers advantages to a full range of users from the cardiac rehab patient to the high level physical conditioning of elite athletes. The company manufactures and markets five models of the 1*2*3 HEART RATE monitors that are used wherever people exercise to accurately monitor their heart rate. Company is developing a talking heart rate monitor that works with portable headset radios. A version of the heart beat transmitter will be available to the manufacturers of other aerobic exercise machines.