Smart clothing can accurately monitor patients' vital signs and movements without the need for typical medical equipment. It can also improve an individual's exercise experience. With the widespread adoption of smart health devices, the rise of smart clothing is not surprising.
Imagine your medical professionals checking your vital signs while you run. This will become possible with the advent of smart clothing, which embeds IoT technology directly into fabric.
Montreal-based Hexoskin has developed a smart shirt that uses sensors to collect medical data. Unlike other smart wearables such as fitness trackers, Hexoskin embeds digital sensors into the fabric of the garment. The Hexoskin shirt features a continuous single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) and two sensors that monitor lung function. In addition to monitoring the wearer's vital signs, a triaxial accelerometer tracks the patient's daily activity levels and sleep patterns.
Smart clothing for mental health
The Hexoskin shirt can be worn under other gear, and the company's first design is aimed at first responders and military personnel. Hexoskin can remotely monitor the vital signs of first responders and military personnel during operations, detecting stress or injury. It has also been used to predict and monitor physical changes during post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) episodes.
Hexoskin has created a more advanced version of the shirt for Canadian astronauts, called Astroskin, which adds integrated sensors to monitor blood pressure, pulse oxygen saturation, respiration, and body temperature. Longer battery life (48 hours instead of 30 hours) allows for longer-term real-time monitoring of vital signs. Data from the Astroskin sensors is transmitted via Bluetooth to the Hexoskin app, which can be viewed both in space and on Earth.
motion-sensing smart clothing
Researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) are also creating a smart fabric. MIT uses automated manufacturing processes to create a bundle of fibers that can sense pressure and convert these sensations into electronic data signals. To address sensor malfunctions within the fiber, the researchers developed a self-calibrating system that uses machine learning algorithms to correct the sensors when needed.
Smart fibers are being woven into clothing such as socks, gloves, and vests, which could help personalize exercise training or monitor individuals in assisted living or rehabilitation centers. For example, socks can predict and track movements, such as walking and squatting, by monitoring pressure differences and tracking tactile footprint sequences for each action. In the future, researchers believe they could help determine if a person has fallen or lost consciousness.
Fitness Sensor
Beyond medical applications, some smart clothing is also designed to improve the wearer's workout. Fashion technology company Wearable X has launched the machine-washable Nadi X yoga leggings. These leggings use embedded sensors and haptic feedback vibrations at key joints to guide the wearer's yoga practice.
The sensor uses Bluetooth to transmit data about the wearer's posture and the length of yoga poses to the Wearable X app. The app also allows the wearer to adjust the level of feedback vibration and use audio commands during exercise.
Smart clothing offers new ways for individuals to track their health in real-world environments, while the durability of embedded sensors makes it suitable for use by athletes, patients, and astronauts. The possibilities for smart clothing in the future are limitless, especially given the growing demand for telemedicine and health monitoring.
