This post may be a little off topic in the realm of pulsatile tinnitus and finding underlying causes of the symptom, but I came across a recent article of interest about HeartID™, a system/software being developed by Bionym, a company based in Toronto, Canada. I'm interested in heartbeats and technology (geek? maybe), and well, this piece combines both topics.  I have absolutely no affiliation with the product or its creators... I actually just read about it online. The headlines caught my eye... read on and you'll see what I mean. 

HeartID™ is an idea that uses your heartbeat - which they say is a unique identifier - as a password, to keep your personally identifiable information and mobile devices secure.  According to Bionym, the official description of the concept is "biometric cardiac recognition." It's similar to ideas like the fingerprint scan or facial recognition software or the device that uses a scan of your eye/retina to verify your identity.

Creators say that a device with a HeartID™ sensor installed would verify each time a device is used that the person who has registered the device is the one holding it and using it, by constantly and automatically "sensing" your cardiac rhythm - your heartbeat (or, as our community refers to lovingly, the whoosh!). 

I wonder if HeartID™ could collect the heart rhythms of pulsatile tinnitus sufferers and generate a report for details on similarities and differences in the rhythms.  In other words, could any details about the rhythms heard by patients (is it smooth, grainy, low pitch, high pitch, squeaky, smooth?) be shared and studied?  We already know that pulsatile tinnitus is defined as a sound that is in sync with the heartbeat or pulse, but we also know that the sounds patients hear - and the nature of the pulsing rhythms - can be quite different.  Just listen to the variety of pulsatile tinnitus sounds recorded by some whooshers in our community.  Sometimes the rhythm or sound of the blood flow can help indicate the underlying cause of the symptom.  So, logically, a correlation within a collection of whooshes may possibly lead to information as to the cause of the whoosh for some patients.  Just an idea, folks. 

Of course the discussion about how secure this method will be is at the forefront now, as the creators claim they're almost ready to embed it in consumer devices. 

Along those lines, as we know, pulsatile tinnitus can be subjective (only the patient can hear it) or objective (the patient and others can hear it).  Dear Creators of HeartID™: Just thought you should know that some of us can hear the rhythms of our heartbeats, some of us can record them, and some of us have a whoosh that others can hear, even without a stethoscope! 

So, that the pulse of my heartbeat can be heard by others who are standing next to me (I have objective pulsatile tinnitus) may not make for as secure a "password" as creators claim. :-) Yet, I suppose while others may be able to "hear" my password (i.e. whoosh) I'd still be the only one able to use it!  Finally, a practical use of the whoosh!

For more information on HeartID™, here are a few fun reads (do you love these headlines or what?) and the company's short video about how the software would work:

"Your Tell Tale Heartbeat Might Soon Be Your Password," Max Eddy, PC Magazine, December 23, 2012.

"Greek Researcher Pioneers Heart ID," Stella Tsolakidou, Greek Reporter, January 3, 2013.

"Security is Only a Heartbeat Away," Government Technology, Govtech.com, December 26, 2012. 

"Bionym: Software That Gets to the Heart of Computer Security," Dominic Ali, Phys.org, December 21, 2012.