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While most fitness monitors aim to track how much you move, a new gadget gets even closer - nestling against your hip to monitor every breath you take.

Called the spire, it clips onto the inside of a trouser waistband or bra.

Through a mobile phone app, its makers claim it can help keep you calmer - and even tell you exactly how you really feel.

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The spire disc on its charging pad. It can constantly monitor and analyzes your breathing patterns in real time

Spire aims to be the first wearable tech device that's equally adept at measuring how you're feeling as it is at counting steps taken.

What makes Spire so different and what its founders believe will make it a hit is that it monitors and recognizes different types of breathing patterns and what these patterns might mean in terms of how someone is feeling -- tense, relaxed, focused, or simply out of breath thanks to a heavy workout.

'Breathing patterns are incredibly sensitive to state of mind,'  said Neema Moraveji, Ph.D, Spire co-founder and Director of Stanford University's Calming Technology Lab.

'Spire measures over 10 characteristics of each breath cycle to assess levels of stress, focus, and more,'

'It is like a weather app for your day -- giving you insight into your different states of mind along with fitness data.'

Rather than simply displaying this data in an app, when the device notices a potential impediment to mental well-being it sends a real-time activity recommendation to the user's smartphone - it's currently iPhone and iPad compatible only -- that should help to redress this imbalance.

So, anything from breathing exercises to taking a walk.

The spire is worn on the hip so it can monitor breathing easily

'We created Spire to address a significant hole in the marketplace. Many activity tracker owners have grown dissatisfied that their device ignores 86% of their day by tracking only movement,' said Jonathan Palley, Spire's other co-founder and chief executive officer.

'Whether in the gym, at work, or commuting in a car, Spire empowers users to perform their best throughout the entire day.

How it works: The spire has a range of sensors to monitor movement, along with a battery, wireless charging chip and Bluetooth capabilities so it can talk to a companion app.

'The key breakthrough of using respiratory patterns to measure state-of-mind is that it allows us to provide feedback that is easy to understand and act upon.

It's advanced science mixed with common sense.'

Worn on the hip or torso rather than the wrist, Spire is aware of movement and body position, doesn't need to make physical contact with the skin to monitor breathing and has a battery that should last a week between charges.

It also features the QI standard for wireless charging and comes with a charging pad.

The pad plugs into a power socket, meaning that when the Spire is low on juice it can be placed on to the pad and charging will begin automatically, without USB or other types of connecting cables.

Spire will start shipping in September and will retail for $149.99.