About Heart Rate Variability (HRV) measurement
For accurate HRV measurement, we recommend using either a good quality chest strap heart rate (HR) monitor or an electrocardiogram (ECG) device. Validated HR monitors, such as the Polar H10 and Movesense, record 1-lead ECG via a chest strap and provide accuracy similar to ECG devices. Holter ECG devices such as the Bittium Faros are optimal for long-term measurements. When using an ECG recording device, you can verify abnormal beats and possible arrhythmia episodes from the ECG waveform data.
Photoplethysmography (PPG) is another method for measuring HRV. PPG is commonly used in wrist-worn devices that measure heart rate through the skin. However, PPG monitoring is sensitive to motion artifacts, and beat detection accuracy is lower compared to ECG. Additionally, not all PPG measuring devices provide Inter-Beat Interval (IBI) data, which is required for HRV analysis. For example commonly used sport watches and activity trackers (Fitbit. Garmin, Polar, etc.) provide only average HR data. Therefore, we recommend using a chest strap HR monitor or ECG device for more accurate HRV measurement.
Supported measurement devices
Kubios HRV software products are designed to work with a range of HR monitors, ECG devices, and PPG monitors. A detailed list of supported devices is provided below. If your device is not included, please don’t hesitate to contact us, and we will work with you to find out if your device can be supported.
Kubios HRV Scientific – supported devices
Kubios HRV Scientific is a comprehensive HRV analysis software designed for scientific research and professional use. The software supports measurements from the Kubios HRV mobile app, as well as several third-party ECG devices, HR monitors, and PPG devices.
| DEVICE (manufacturer) | DATA TYPES | FILE FORMAT |
|---|---|---|
| Kubios HRV app | ||
| Kubios HRV app (Android & iOS app, requires an external sensor) | ECG, RRI, PPG, PPI, markers | KDF |
| ECG devices | ||
| ABPMpro with ECG leads (SOMNOmedics) | ECG, markers (+Acc) | EDF |
| Actiheart 5 (CamNtech) | ECG, RRI (+Acc) | EDF |
| Bittium Faros 180 or 360 (Bittium) | ECG, RRI, markers (+Acc) | EDF |
| Biopac products with ECG module (Biopac Systems) | ECG | ACQ3 |
| Cortrium C3+ (Cortrium) | ECG, markers (+Acc) | EDF |
| GE CardioSoft and CASE systems (GE Healthcare) | ECG | Cardiology XML |
| Hexoskin Smart Garments (Hexoskin) | ECG, RRI | EDF, CSV |
| Kardia (AliveCor, requires converter available here) | ECG | EDF |
| Mindfield MindMaster (Mindfield Biosystems) | ECG | EDF |
| Movesense sensor + Movesense Showcase app (Movesense) | ECG, RRI | CSV |
| Shimmer ECG (Shimmer Sensing) | ECG | CSV |
| Zephyr Performance Systems (Medtronic) | ECG, RRI | CSV |
| HR monitors | ||
| Firstbeat Bodyguard 3 (Firstbeat Technologies) | RRI | CSV |
| Garmin HR monitors (Garmin, *requires watch + sensor, enable log HRV setting from the watch) | RRI | FIT |
| Mindfield eSense Pulse (Mindfield Biosystems) | RRI | CSV |
| Polar HR monitors (Polar Electro, *requires watch + sensor, see how to export HRV data) | RRI | CSV, FIT |
| Suunto HR monitors (Suunto, *requires watch + sensor) | RRI | CSV, FIT |
| PPG devices (recommended for resting measurements only) | ||
| Empatica E4 (Empatica, see how to analyze E4 data) | PPG, PPI | CSV |
| emWave (HeartMath) | PPI | CSV |
| Rhythm24 + Rhythm Sync iPhone app (Scosche) | PPI | CSV, FIT |
| Shimmer PPG systems (Shimmer Sensing) | PPG | CSV |
Data types: Electrocardiogram (ECG), time intervals between successive ECG R-waves (RRI), photoplethysmogram (PPG), pulse-to-pulse intervals (PPI), + Supportive data channels; File formats: European data format (EDF), Kubios data format (KDF); *Make sure that the model you choose supports beat-to-beat data.
Kubios HRV app – supported sensors
The Kubios HRV app is a mobile application that must be paired with an external HR sensor capable of recording beat-to-beat data. The app utilizes the Polar SDK, which provides additional raw data when used with Polar sensors. The following sensors are supported.
| SENSOR (manufacturer) | DATA TYPES | SENSOR TYPE |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended HR sensors | ||
| Polar H10 (Polar Electro) | ECG, RRI, markers (+Acc) | chest strap |
| Polar Verity Sense (Polar Electro) | PPG, PPI, markers (+Acc) | optical armband |
| Movesense (Movesense) | RRI | chest strap |
| Other compatible sensors | ||
| Mindfield eSense Pulse (Mindfield Biosystems) | RRI | chest strap |
| Rhythm24 (Scosche, turn on HRV mode in Rhythm Sync iOS app) | PPI | optical armband |
| Suunto Smart Sensor (Suunto) | RRI | chest strap |
| Wahoo TICKR (Wahoo Fitness) | RRI | chest strap |
| NOT SUPPORTED: | ||
| ANT+ sensors are not supported | ||
| Apple watch is not supported (even though Apple advertises that the watch measures HRV, we cannot support it because it does not transmit in real-time RR intervals to third party applications) | ||
Data types: Electrocardiogram (ECG), time intervals between successive ECG R-waves (RRI), photoplethysmogram (PPG), pulse-to-pulse intervals (PPI), + Supportive data channels.
