Just last week, Fitbit's heart rate sensor was cited in an intellectual property lawsuit filed by technology developer Valencell. The lawsuit alleges that the PurePulse Tracker, which sits inside Fitbit's wrist-worn products and uses 'flashes' of LED or infrared light to detect changes in capillary blood volume and calculate heart rate, infringes upon several Valencell patents. However, the question of intellectual property pales in comparison to the latest issue to which Fitbit's lawyers must respond – namely, whether the PurePulse Tracker actually works. A new class action lawsuit, filed in three states across the US last week, alleges that the Pure Pulse Tracker underestimates heart rate by a 'significant margin', posing potentially fatal health and safety risks to its users.
'Effectively worthless'
According to the lawsuit, the heart rate monitors built into Fitbit's 'Surge' and 'Charge HR' devices may be dangerously inaccurate in their readings of faster heart rates. A board-certified cardiologist, quoted within the lawsuit, calculated that PurePulse Tracker heart rate readings are off by an average of 25 beats per minute (bpm) for heart rates above 110 bpm. The three plaintiffs in the case reported even larger errors, one as high as 82 bpm. For Fitbit customers who have been advised by doctors or personal trainers to keep their heart rate within certain limits, the lawsuit concludes, relying on the PurePulse Tracker may endanger their health. The lawsuit concludes that for all Fitbit customers, regardless of health status, the tracker is 'effectively worthless' as a means of monitoring one's heart rate.
Claims refuted
Fitbit is no stranger to class action lawsuits. Fitbit Force, the predecessor to the 'Charge HR' model, was pulled from shelves after plaintiffs in a 2014 lawsuit alleged that the product's wrist band had caused skin rashes. However, the company has indicated that it plans to 'vigorously defend' the present lawsuit, with a spokesperson commenting last week that the company takes issue with many of the claims brought forth by the complaint. Though the spokesperson made reference to internal testing procedures for all Fitbit products, they also emphasised that Fitbit devices 'are not intended to be scientific or medical devices', but rather fitness aids. Sources: Fortune; Ars Technica, The Verge
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