The app
How does BeatAware work?
You rest the bottom edge of your iPhone on your chest for twenty seconds. The microphone records the sounds your heart makes, a phonocardiogram. The recording is analysed by the BeatAware service, which finds each heartbeat, measures the timing of its phases and estimates blood pressure from the sound. The app compares the result with your own usual range and tells you, in one sentence, how this morning compares.
The technology page follows a recording from microphone to sentence.
What is the difference between a phonocardiogram and an ECG?
An electrocardiogram records the heart's electrical signal and is the right tool for rhythm. A phonocardiogram records the mechanical event: the valves closing. It gives the timing of the phases inside each beat, which the electrical trace does not, and it is what a clinician listens for with a stethoscope. BeatAware records a phonocardiogram with the phone's microphone.
Is BeatAware a medical device?
No. BeatAware is a wellness app. It describes how this morning compares with your own usual and shows you the measurements behind that. It does not diagnose, treat or prevent any condition and does not replace advice from a qualified health professional. If you are concerned about your heart, talk to your doctor.
What does the app show me?
An estimate of blood pressure, your heart rate, and the timing of the cardiac cycle: how long S1, systole, S2 and diastole lasted, beat by beat. Each is compared with your usual range, and all of it is charted over the last four weeks. You can play back the recording and see where each beat was found.
How is my usual range worked out?
From your own readings: once there are at least seven in the last four weeks, the app knows the band they fall in and reads each new morning against it. Until then the field stays slate and counts your readings up. The range keeps moving with you.
How often should I record?
Once a morning is what the app is designed around, and the first week matters most because it builds your usual range. Recording at about the same time under similar conditions makes the range tighter. A daily reminder is in the Profile tab.
Phones, data, timing
Which phones work?
BeatAware is an iPhone app. An iPhone 13 or newer records best. An Android version is on the way.
Is my health data secure?
Recordings and results are sent over an encrypted connection and stored under your own account, so they follow you between phones. They are shared only when you share a session, send a report or export your data. You can export everything, or delete your account and its data, from the Profile tab. The app's own Privacy and consent screen explains this in the same words.
Does the microphone stay on?
No. The app uses the microphone only while you record, for twenty seconds at a time, with the live level on screen. iOS shows its own indicator whenever the microphone is in use.
Can my doctor see my readings?
When you choose to. You can send a session to your cardiologist from the app, create a PDF report for any date range, or export your data. Clinics can also work with BeatAware through a web console and an API; see Developers.
When will BeatAware be available?
The iPhone app is in early access through TestFlight, Apple's app for trying software before it is released. Join the early access with your name and email and we will send an invitation as places open.