Nintendo files blood pressure patent
Wednesday, 23 Jul 2008 10:09
The next Wii Fit may well come with a device that measures blood pressure, among other things
The US patent and trademark office has revealed that Nintendo has filed a patent for a controller that senses blood pressure, including other vital signs.
The device is described in the patent application thusly:
"A wireless controller for a video game console is disclosed and includes a main body including a measurement unit including a control circuit including a first amplification circuit, a control IC, a second amplification circuit, an ADC, a display circuit, and pins for setting, a top recess, a display, two first measurement devices adapted to contact the fingers as the hand holding the main body for measuring pulse and body temperature of a user playing a video game on the video game console, and a rotation counter for counting the number of rotations of the main body; a control unit mounted in the recess; a band including two second measurement devices for measuring blood pressure and pulse respectively by wrapping the band around the wrist; and a cable interconnecting the main body and the band."
And relax...
Blood pressure, pulse and body temperature values would also be shown on the display whilst the 'game' was being played.
The gaming community has jumped to the inevitable conclusion that this patent is for the device that will be included with the next Wii Fit game. Don't pretend you didn't think one was coming...