MIT's Machine-Washable Sensors Can Be Integrated Into Fabric to Monitor Vital Signs
Sensor-embedded clothing could be used to measure a wearer's temperature, respiration, and heart rate.
Researchers from MIT have developed a new method for sensors that can be incorporated into stretchy fabrics, including shirts and other clothes, that can measure vital signs such as temperature, heart rate, and respiration. What’s more, they are machine-washable and can be customized to fit any body type. The team states the new type of sensing could be used to monitor people who are ill (at home or hospital), as well as athletes and astronauts.
The researchers designed their E-TeCS (Electric Textile Comfortable Suit) using ICs and interconnect lines with plastic substrates that can be incorporated into knitted textiles using a high-throughput manufacturing method. The suit is tailored using a customized fabric, which features channels or pockets for weaving the electronic sensor strips. The ICs themselves are created through a two-layer industrial flexible PCB process with extra steps for chip and passive component assembly and encased with thermoplastic polyurethane, and sealed with a washable material.
The E-TeCS polyester fabric is outfitted with tiny openings that allow the sensors to come in direct contact with the skin, for more accurate readings, which are then sent to a smartphone for analysis. The researchers used the fabric to prototype moisture-wicking t-shirts similar to Under Armour, enabling them to conform to the skin.
They then tested the shirts by going to the gym, which let them monitor heart rates, temperatures, and respiratory changes in real-time while working out. Because the shirts were embedded with 30 sensors, they could observe temperature changes in different parts of the body, and how they correlate with each other. The team plans to develop additional garments with different sensors that can track blood pressure and more, which will help medical professionals monitor their patients remotely.