Basis launches heart rate monitor and health tracker

Basis Science  hopes to get us all in better shape. It will do so with its $199 heart and health monitor that you can strap around your wrist. The company is revealing today the design of its B1 Basis Band that will launch later this year.

The tracker has multiple sensors that measure your heart rate, calorie intake, sleep patterns, and other metrics. It has a liquid crystal display and looks like a digital watch. The device can be connected to a web-based personal dashboard that lets you view your heart rate, diet, sleep data, and more. With that data, Basis makes recommendations for how you can improve your overall wellness. The latter part makes use of gamification, or game-like techniques. You can share your updates with friends and family over social networks and receive encouragement for your progress.

“With ongoing concerns about our nation’s health and wellness, combined with rising healthcare costs, people are looking for smart, useful tools to help them make better lifestyle choices,” said Jef Holove, Basis CEO. “Most devices today provide guesstimates on people’s health from simplistic metrics like motion or footsteps. Basis technology can provide a much richer, more insightful picture of your wellness.”

You can export your data from your personal dashboard and it with a personal trainer or doctor. While other devices try to calculate your activity through a smartphone or, as Striiv does, through a keychain device, Basis believes it can get a lot of data from your wrist, the bloodflow under it, and the state of your skin (sweaty or not). It has a three-axis accelerometer that records movement and activity. It calculates metrics based on that data and shares it to the cloud.

The B1 Basis Band has multiple-day battery life and it is light. You can change the style and color of your straps and wear it easily while running. Basis also said today it is creating an advisory board that includes Kevin Colleran of Facebook, Charles and Kai Huang (founders of RedOctane and creators of Guitar Hero), Patrick McGill, physician Daniel Kraft, and Jeff Rosenthal. Basis also appointed Chris Verplaetse as vice president of development.

San Francisco-based Basis has raised $9 million to date. Preorders are available on the company’s web site. Basis will show off the band at the upcoming Health 2.0 conference.