Smart T-shirt

A smart T-shirt that monitors respiratory rate in real time has been developed by Canadian researchers.

16:10 22 May 2017

Researchers in Canada have developed a smart T-shirt that could help diagnose or monitor a range of medical conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and sleep apnoea.

 

The smart shirt, which monitors respiratory rate in real time, works without wires, electrodes, or sensors. Instead, it comes with a spiral antenna made of a hollow optical fibre coated with a thin layer of silver in its inner surface. The antenna, which is sewn in at chest level, is protected by the polymer-covered fibre’s exterior surface.

 

Younes Messaddeq, the professor who led the team that developed the technology, said: “The T-shirt is really comfortable and doesn’t inhibit the subject’s natural movements,”

 

“Our tests show that the data captured by the shirt is reliable, whether the user is lying down, sitting, standing, or moving around.”

 

“The antenna does double duty, sensing and transmitting the signals created by respiratory movements. The data can be sent to the user’s smartphone or a nearby computer.”

 

When the wearer breathes in, the smart fibre senses the increase in thorax circumference and the volume of air in the lungs.

 

“These changes modify some of the resonant frequency of the antenna. That’s why the T-shirt doesn’t need to be tight or in direct contact with the wearer’s skin. The oscillations that occur with each breath are enough for the fibre to sense the user’s respiratory rate,” Messaddeq said.