Hong Kong entrepreneur has eye on preventing heart attacks with smartwatch

Tim Lui Hin-wai is on a mission to prevent people from getting heart attacks. The 27-year-old Hongkonger studied biomedical engineering and uses his knowledge to help people who are most likely to suffer from such coronary events.

Lui co-founded Heartisans, a technology start-up that has built a smartwatch predicting heart attacks up to 10 minutes in advance of their happening. Overseeing the technical side of the start-up, he describes the device as developed specifically for heart disease and hypertension patients, and uniquely filling a void in the world of wearable technology.

The watch uses an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor that measures electrical activity from the heart. It can tell whether someone is developing coronary artery disease – the buildup of plaque in the arteries leading to blood clots – which is one of the most common causes of heart attacks.

The device also measures one’s pulse transit time through the ECG and a pulse sensor. Together, they give users a blood pressure reading with just the touch of a finger. Compared with large, traditional cuff-based machines that measure blood pressure and take up space at home, the watch lets users check their readings anywhere, any time.