This smartphone app offers mini check-ups ‘in just 45 seconds’

That’s right: you can use your smartphone to determine your heart rate, oxygen levels, and even you stress levels in less than a minute, courtesy of an application developed by an exciting Singaporean startup.

According to Reuters, Singaporean construction firm Kajima is using the aforementioned app as its first line of defence against another possible outbreak of the coronavirus in the country.

Developed by Singaporean startup Nervotec, the application allows Kajima employees to analyze their body in terms of critical factors like oxygen and stress levels in just 45 seconds. The app also tells them if they should go see a doctor, which can come in handy during particularly crucial times.

The city-state has kept a tight lid on its infections and wants to avoid a repeat of last year, when a series of clusters emerged in migrant worker dormitories.

Kajima staff at various sites have used the application since December as part of a government-initiated programme that provides companies with trial-stage technology to help them adjust to the new pandemic-era norms.

It offers a diagnosis of the user’s health condition, relying solely on a smartphone camera that can measure heart rate by picking up changes in the reflectivity of light on the user’s skin between heart beats according to blood flow underneath.

Nervotec founder Jonathan Lau said Singapore’s government was very interested in the technology.

“We see the most traction coming from healthcare providers, both private and public,” he said.

Lau’s initial inspiration came from his experiences as an air force pilot, when he underwent constant check-ups.

He eventually founded a company that used wearable devices to monitor pilots. But when the pandemic hit, Lau broadened the focus.

The app is still undergoing local review and Chwee Teck Lim, director of the National University of Singapore’s Institute of Health Innovation and Technology, said it could have a big impact if approved by regulators

“What Nervotec is proposing could potentially be a game-changer,” Lim said.