First there was the basic step counter. Then gradually over time, these wearable devices got smarter and smarter. And that trend will continue thanks in part to the release of Maxim’s Health Sensor Platform 2.0, which allows the monitoring of various health parameters, including heart rate and body temperature.

The platform consists of a host of components, including a low-power microcontroller (the MAX32630), an ultra-low-power biometric sensor hub with embedded heart-rate algorithm (the MAX32664), a power-management device (the MAX20303), a temperature sensor (the MAX30205), and an optical pulse oximeter and heart-rate sensor (the MAX86141).

While you could source all these various components yourself, Maxim has really made it simple by bundling together the platform and working out all the kinks, which include board layout issues and passive-component tweaking. It’s even available in a watch casing for very quick prototyping. Data can be stored on the platform for patient evaluation or streamed to a PC for analysis later.

Because it’s an open platform, designers can evaluate their own algorithms directly on the board. The platform is designed within the ARM Mbed environment. Hence, there’s an inherent high level of abstraction that potentially eliminates maintenance of software tools and provides developers with an extensive library of open-source software.

The Health Sensor Platform 2.0 is available with hardware and firmware files for $399.