A new patent granted to Apple suggests that the technology giant could be looking to create a sports monitoring system that attaches to a pair of earphones or headphones.

The patent was awarded to Apple earlier this week, though full details on the product potentially in development remain scarce.

However, what is known is that the attachment would couple sensors and accelerometers in order to kept track of physical activity, levels of perspiration and the user's heart rate activity.

The patent also explores the use of gesture-tracking technology, allowing the system to control other devices. This could potentially be used to allow for head movement to determine actions on linked devices, such as an iPhone or other pieces of hardware.

More information on the patent, including drawings of the proposed innovation, are available to view here.