MIT scientists have found a way to incorporate electronic sensors into stretchy fabrics▼▽▷◁. These fabrics can be used to make garments such as shirts which will help monitor vital signs such as temperature●◇▪△, respiration-■■◆▼, and heart rate□◆☆. The sensor-embedded garments are machine washable and can be customised to fit close to the body of the person wearing them□•.
The team envisions that this type of sensing could be used for monitoring people who are ill◆●•-, either at home or in the hospital▪●▼-◆, as well as athletes or astronauts○□•.
We can have any commercially available electronic parts or custom lab-made electronics embedded within the textiles that we wear every day=○-, creating conformable garments=▪▽◆, says Canan Dagdeviren▷▪▲•○, the LG Electronics career development assistant professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT▽=●. These are customisable△○•●, so we can make garments for anyone who needs to have some physical data from their body like temperature◁=□○, respiration rate▷-☆•▪, and so forth□▪▷.
Besides Dagdeviren▪★•△▼, the team also included MIT graduate student Irmandy Wicaksono★☆=. Several MIT undergraduates contributed to the study through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme●◇☆▼.
Other research groups have developed thin○○▲, skin-like patches that can measure temperature and other vital signs▽□, but these are delicate and must be taped to the skin◆◁…. Dagdeviren'☆▼;s Conformable Decoders group at the Media Lab set out to create garments more similar to the clothes one normally wears○=▪☆, using a stretchy fabric that has removable electronic sensors incorporated into it○▷▷.
In our case△△, the textile is not electrically functional•▽★. It&rsquo▷◁;s just a passive element of our garment so that you can wear the devices comfortably and conformably during your daily activities•■▽, Dagdeviren says▲○=★. Our main goal was to measure the physical activity of the body in terms of temperature▪▪, respiration□=▪, acceleration◁■◇, all from the same body part☆◆, without requiring any fixture or any tape◇◆-.
The electronic sensors consist of long◁▪=▷▲, flexible strips that are encased in epoxy and then woven into narrow channels in the fabric◁★▲. These channels have small openings that allow the sensors to be exposed to the skin●■▼▪▲. For this study■●-◁•, the researchers designed a prototype shirt with 30 temperature sensors and an accelerometer that can measure the wearer&rsquo▷○▽=○;s movement▽•▼-★, heart rate▷◁◇▲…, and breathing rate•●◁•☆. The garment can then transmit this data wirelessly to a smartphone•▪☆▼▽.
The researchers chose their fabric &mdash◁▲-▼-; a polyester blend &mdash▪□; for its moisture-wicking properties and its ability to conform to the skin★•▷…, similar to compression shirts worn during exercise△△. Last summer▼…○, several of the researchers spent time at a factory in Shenzhen◁▼☆, China★◆◁, to experiment with mass-producing the material used for the garments◁●●.
From the outside it looks like a normal T-shirt○○▲▷▽, but from the inside◆◁, you can see the electronic parts which are touching your skin▼▲▪◇◆, Dagdeviren says▷▲•□. It compresses on your body=•, and the active parts of the sensors are exposed to the skin★◆.
The garments can be washed with the sensors embedded in them…•▼, and the sensors can also be removed and transferred to a different garment☆=■▽•.
The researchers tested their prototype shirts as wearers exercised at the gym-▲, allowing them to monitor changes in temperature…▷☆, heart rate■◆…, and breathing rate△☆○. Because the sensors cover a large surface area of the body=•■▽▲, the researchers can observe temperature changes in different parts of the body□★, and how those changes correlate with each other□•.
The shirts can be easily manufactured in different sizes to fit an array of ages and body types▽■★, Dagdeviren says=▷•. She plans to begin developing other types of garments••◇▽, such as pants▽○, and is working on incorporating additional sensors for monitoring blood oxygen levels and other indicators of health▽▷•. This kind of sensing could be useful for personalised telemedicine△▼◆•, allowing doctors to remotely monitor patients while patients remain at home-◇◆△, Dagdeviren says▷◇, or to monitor astronauts&rsquo•◆; health while they&rsquo◆…;re in space•▽.
You don&rsquo▽◆=▽;t need to go to the doctor or do a video call…=▪-, Dagdeviren says○•▪. Through this kind of data collection△…•, I think doctors can make better assessments and help their patients in a better way△▽▲▼.
The research was funded by the MIT Media Lab Consortium and a NASA Translational Research Institute for Space Health Seed Grant from the MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative◆••▷◇.