Samsung handsets might use advanced laser technology to monitor health

A recently published patent application by Samsung shows what could be the next step in health monitoring for mobile devices - advanced laser speckle interferometric technology. The document revealed by the US Patent & Trademark Office highlights that, in the future, next to smartwatches and fitness trackers, smartphones and tablets will be able to use this technology as well.

According to the makers of the Galaxy lineup, "A laser beam emitted from the laser light source is scattered on a skin surface of a wrist of a person, and a speckle pattern formed by scattering of coherent light is detected by the detector and then recorded." Devices that use this technology can track heart rate, blood flow velocity and pressure, skin conditions, and more.

This new technology is the result of three patents that Samsung has acquired from Russian developers. The company filed for the patent back in September 2015, and it is unknown when will this technology be used in consumer devices. However, it seems very likely that this will happen sooner or later.