The other day I was in medical ward at my hospital and heard a nurse report that her patient’s heart rate was 35 beats per minute, but that he was comfortably eating his breakfast. This prompted a colleague I was with to inform me that his own heart rate drops into the 30’s when he is sleeping.

“How do you know that?” I asked. He pulled a ring off from his right hand and showed me its inner lining. I’d thought it to be his wedding band, but the side not visible to me when worn, the one that touched his skin, had several sensors that continuously monitored not only his beats per minute, but also his temperature and movement, the latter via an accelerometer and gyroscope.

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