Starfish-inspired patch solves key issues for wearable heart sensors

By Nadeem Sarwar Published April 3, 2025

The domain of wearable devices has grown by leaps and bounds, not just in terms of mass adoption, but also owing to some astounding innovations. Wearable heart rate sensors can now measure everything from heart rate and blood oxygen levels to ECG in form factors ranging from a watch to finger rings.

These sensors, however, come with an inherent set of problems. Motion artifacts arising from movement or vigorous activity alter the blood flow and affect their accuracy. Optical heart rate sensors (photoplethysmography or PPG tech) also struggle with darker skin tones, tattoos, or even body placement. 

The solution to these woes – and more – could come from deep within the oceanic bed. Scientists at the University of Missouri have developed a starfish-shaped wearable device that can measure heart rate in real-time. The device is inspired by the arm movements of a starfish and features multiple sensor-to-skin connection points. 

The biggest advantage of this approach is that it can negate the motion challenges and measure heart rate activity more accurately. The multi-sensor format allows the device to collect multi-signal data with higher precision, even when users are engaged in physical activity.

“Similar to a starfish, our device has five arms, each equipped with sensors that simultaneously capture both electrical and mechanical heart activity,” notes Sicheng Chen, lead author of the paper detailing the innovation. 

The device collects cardiac electrical (electrocardiogram) and mechanical (seismocardiogram and gyrocardiogram) signals using its sensor array. The team also developed a machine learning model to compensate for motion variables and analyze heart signals from multiple points.

In their tests, it was able to accurately detect serious heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation (A-Fib), myocardial infarction MI), and heart failure (HF). So far, no mass market wearable device is able to collectively detect the three aforementioned cardiac problems.

“Human studies demonstrate that integrating these multimodal biosignals significantly enhances diagnostic accuracy, achieving more than 91% accuracy for various heart conditions—surpassing models that rely on fewer inputs,” says the research paper published in the Science journal. 

Notably, the team used off-the-shelf electronic components to make their multi-sensor heart rate measurement device. Another crucial benefit is that it can transmit all the data in real-time via Bluetooth, allowing remote monitoring for health experts. 

Moreover, it supports wireless charging. The penta-radial heart rate sensor is fitted with an onboard 50mAh rechargeable battery that offers up to 8 hours of heart activity measurement per charge. 

It can be juiced up using commercially available chargers, and power transfer can happen through wireless charging coils even when the device is being used, or underwater. The team is now working on porting the sensing hardware to a breathable layer so that it can be worn with ease.