Ultrahuman has launched a new Heart Scan feature that allows owners of its Ring Air and Ring Pro smart rings to take an on-demand heart rhythm check in around 60 seconds.

The feature, developed in partnership with health technology company FibriCheck, is designed to give users a way to check their heart rhythm at a specific moment, rather than relying only on the ring’s existing overnight monitoring.

Heart Scan is available through the Ultrahuman app and uses the ring’s sensors to capture a pulse signal while the wearer remains still for 60 seconds. FibriCheck’s algorithm then analyses the reading and can reveal results including a regular rhythm, a possibly irregular rhythm or possible atrial fibrillation (AFib). 

Users can also generate a downloadable FibriCheck report which contains the pulse recording, a tachogram and a Lorenz plot showing beat-to-beat intervals. This can then be shared with a healthcare professional.

The move extends Ultrahuman’s push into health monitoring and comes as smart rings increasingly compete with smartwatches on health and wellness features.

Ultrahuman introduced AFib detection, which provides passive overnight monitoring, through its PowerPlug platform in 2024. The new Heart Scan differs by allowing users to initiate a check whenever it suits them, potentially giving users a way to check their heart rhythm when they notice symptoms or feel something is different.

The feature is available to eligible Ring Air and Ring Pro users across supported markets, including Australia, with the required Ultrahuman app versions installed. The company has made the on-demand scans available to eligible users, while its passive overnight AFib monitoring continues to sit within its paid AFib Detection PowerPlug service in some markets. 

Ultrahuman’s expansion into heart monitoring comes as health tracking becomes increasingly popular in the wearable technology market.

Apple has also significantly expanded the health capabilities of its latest Apple Watch models, with the Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 featuring more frequent heart-rate and heart-rate variability measurements, a new readiness score and additional health insights.

For Ultrahuman, however, the advantage of Heart Scan is that it brings a specific health check to a much smaller form factor than a smartwatch.

The company does make clear that Heart Scan is not designed to diagnose every cardiac condition. FibriCheck does not detect heart attacks or ischaemic conditions, while a regular result does not rule out a heart rhythm disorder. 

The development nevertheless marks another step in the evolution of smart rings from fitness and sleep trackers into sophisticated health-monitoring devices.