Pulse 3+ Pulse-Ox & Heart Rate Sensor based on MAX30102 – QWIIC compatible

The Pulse 3+ is the latest revision of our open-source pulse-oximetry breakout, built around the Maxim MAX30102 — a single-chip optical sensor that integrates the red and IR LEDs, photodiode, and analog front-end. Pulse 3+ adds a SparkFun QWIIC connector for plug-and-play wiring alongside the standard 0.1″ pin header. At 14 × 28 mm it’s small enough to strap to a fingertip — a Velcro strap is included.

Unlike Pulse Express, which uses an on-chip biometric hub to compute SpO₂ and heart rate, Pulse 3+ streams raw PPG samples over I²C and the SpO₂/HR algorithm runs on your host MCU using our open-source Arduino library. That gives you full visibility into the signal — useful for research, algorithm development, and education.

Features

• Maxim MAX30102 — single-chip pulse oximeter with 660 nm red and 880 nm IR LEDs, integrated photodiode, and AFE
• I²C interface; 3.3 V or 5 V supply with on-board level translation
• QWIIC connector for plug-and-play wiring with the SparkFun QWIIC ecosystem
• Compact 14 × 28 mm footprint, designed to be strapped to a fingertip
• Velcro finger strap included
• Open-source Arduino library with example sketches for raw PPG capture and on-host SpO₂ / heart-rate computation
• Works with ProtoCentral OpenView for live visualization
• Complete KiCad design files — schematic and PCB layout on GitHub
• Hardware released under CERN-OHL-P v2, libraries under MIT

Important notice

This device is intended for research, education, and evaluation use only. It is not a medical diagnostic instrument and is not FDA, CE, or FCC approved for consumer use.