Pulseband: A hands-on tutorial on how to design a smart wristband to monitor heart-rate

Wearable devices like smartwatches are becoming an accepted way to monitor a person's health stats such a heartrate and physical activity. This paper will explain how to develop a do-it-yourself (DIY), smart wristband to perform photoplethysmography (PPG), also known as pulse oximetry. The designed Pulseband acquires PPG signals and estimates heart rate (HR) in real-time. HR estimates can be transmitted via a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to a nearby placed smartphone or computer. Specifically, we will delve into three key aspects essential to the band; hardware, software, and 3D printing.