The next version of Apple’s AirPod wireless earphones could double up as fitness trackers, according to a new Apple patent.

The new AirPods will contain biometric sensors* that measure your heart rate as well as your blood flow.

The sensors will push up against a part of the outer-ear to take measurements of electrical activity in the heart and chest.

The pods will monitor your circulatory* system using impedance cardiography* sensors that read the electrical activity of a region of the chest called the thorax.

These readings include the amount of blood pumping through your heart, known as the stroke volume, and your heart rate, meaning how often your blood is pumping.

The two measurements will be used to figure out the users’ cardiac output — the total amount of blood their heart is pumping — to help with fitness training.

Working out cardiac* output will help users to understand their heart health, as well as how much oxygen they use during exercise, a key indicator of fitness.

The patent also mentions a galvanic skin response* sensor, which measures electrical resistance of the skin to work out the wearer’s emotional stress levels.

These are typically used in lie detector* tests, but will most likely be used by Apple to measure the emotional state of wearers.

“This application relates to earbuds configured with one or more biometric sensors,” Apple wrote in its patent. (SD-Agencies)