18 research outputs found
Study of vital sign monitoring with textile sensors in swimming pool environment
This paper presents the results of a series of experiments aiming at the optimisation of vital sign monitoring using textile electrodes to be used in a swimsuit. The swimsuit will integrate sensors for the measurement of several physiological and biomechanical signals; this paper will focus on ECG and respiratory movement analysis. The data obtained is mainly intended to provide tools for evaluation of high-performance swimmers, although applications can be derived for leisure sports and other situations.
A comparison between electrodes based on different materials and structures, behaviour in dry and wet environments, as well as the behavior in different extension states, will be presented.
The influence of movement on the signal quality, both by the muscular electrical signals as well as by the displacement of the electrodes, will be discussed. The final objective is the integration of the electrodes in the swimsuit by knitting them directly in the suit’s fabric in a seamless knitting machineFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - PTDC/EEAELC/70803/200
Biosignal monitoring implemented in a swimsuit for athlete performance evaluation
Monitor athletes during exercise has always been a
major challenge for engineers and researchers due to
the restrictions involving the measurement of
physiological and performance parameters. An
athlete should have complete freedom to perform his
normal activity, in order to be correctly monitored.
The advent of e-textiles can give an important
contribution to overcome these limitations since it is
possible to integrate sensors in garments and thus
perform monitoring without limiting the freedom of
movements. This paper presents part of the work
that is being carried out in the project entitled
BIOSWIM, which envisions the development of an
instrumented swimsuit, capable of acquiring several
physiological and performance related signals with
the purpose of aiding the trainer in improving the
technical component of the swimmer and improve
his performance. This paper will give an overview
of the monitoring system and the textile sensors that
were developed, namely for biopotential
measurement.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - projeto Bioswim (PTDC/EEAELC/70803/2006
Textile sensors for ECG and respiratory frequency on swimsuits
Swimming constitutes one of the most demanding sports regarding technique. Years of training are necessary to master each one of the four styles. An important improvement and help for trainers would be a swimsuit that could provide information during training. This paper presents the research undertaken to develop textile sensors that will be used in a swimsuit. This paper will address ECG and respiratory frequency sensors and respective signals. The behaviour of the proposed sensors in different conditions (dry and wet environments) will be presented and discussed. The influence of movement on the signal quality and further interpretation, both by the muscular electrical signals as well as by the displacement of the electrodes, will be addressed. Other very important issue in swimming is drag. One approach that can reduce total drag consists in using compression. However, compressed fabrics will most likely modify the textile sensors’Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - PTDC/EEA-ELC/70803/200
Textile Concentric Ring Electrodes for ECG Recording Based on Screen-Printing Technology
[EN] Among many of the electrode designs used in electrocardiography (ECG), concentric ring electrodes (CREs) are one of the most promising due to their enhanced spatial resolution. Their development has undergone a great push due to their use in recent years; however, they are not yet widely used in clinical practice. CRE implementation in textiles will lead to a low cost, flexible, comfortable, and robust electrode capable of detecting high spatial resolution ECG signals. A textile CRE set has been designed and developed using screen-printing technology. This is a mature technology in the textile industry and, therefore, does not require heavy investments. Inks employed as conductive elements have been silver and a conducting polymer (poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate; PEDOT: PSS). Conducting polymers have biocompatibility advantages, they can be used with flexible substrates, and they are available for several printing technologies. CREs implemented with both inks have been compared by analyzing their electric features and their performance in detecting ECG signals. The results reveal that silver CREs present a higher average thickness and slightly lower skin-electrode impedance than PEDOT: PSS CREs. As for ECG recordings with subjects at rest, both CREs allowed the uptake of bipolar concentric ECG signals (BC-ECG) with signal-to-noise ratios similar to that of conventional ECG recordings. Regarding the saturation and alterations of ECGs captured with textile CREs caused by intentional subject movements, silver CREs presented a more stable response (fewer saturations and alterations) than those of PEDOT: PSS. Moreover, BC-ECG signals provided higher spatial resolution compared to conventional ECG. This improved spatial resolution was manifested in the identification of P1 and P2 waves of atrial activity in most of the BC-ECG signals. It can be concluded that textile silver CREs are more suitable than those of PEDOT: PSS for obtaining BC-ECG records. These developed textile electrodes bring the use of CREs closer to the clinical environment.Grant from the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad y del Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional. DPI2015-68397-R (MINECO/FEDER). This work was also supported by the Spanish Government/FEDER funds (grant number MAT2015-64139-C4-3-R (MINECO/FEDER)).Lidon-Roger, JV.; Prats-Boluda, G.; Ye Lin, Y.; Garcia Casado, FJ.; Garcia-Breijo, E. (2018). Textile Concentric Ring Electrodes for ECG Recording Based on Screen-Printing Technology. Sensors. 18(1):300-314. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18010300S30031418
A Mobile Healthcare Solution for Ambient Assisted Living Environments
Elderly people need regular healthcare services and, several times,
are dependent of physicians’ personal attendance. This dependence raises
several issues to elders, such as, the need to travel and mobility support.
Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) and Mobile Health (m-Health) services and
applications offer good healthcare solutions that can be used both on
indoor and in mobility environments. This dissertation presents an ambient
assisted living (AAL) solution for mobile environments.
It includes elderly biofeedback monitoring using body sensors for data
collection offering support for remote monitoring. The used sensors are
attached to the human body (such as the electrocardiogram, blood
pressure, and temperature). They collect data providing comfort, mobility,
and guaranteeing efficiency and data confidentiality. Periodic collection of
patients’ data is important to gather more accurate measurements and to
avoid common risky situations, like a physical fall may be considered
something natural in life span and it is more dangerous for senior people.
One fall can out a life in extreme cases or cause fractures, injuries, but
when it is early detected through an accelerometer, for example, it can
avoid a tragic outcome.
The presented proposal monitors elderly people, storing collected
data in a personal computer, tablet, or smartphone through Bluetooth. This
application allows an analysis of possible health condition warnings based
on the input of supporting charts, and real-time bio-signals monitoring and
is able to warn users and the caretakers. These mobile devices are also used to collect data, which allow data
storage and its possible consultation in the future. The proposed system is
evaluated, demonstrated and validated through a prototype and it is ready
for use. The watch Texas ez430-Chronos, which is capable to store
information for later analysis and the sensors Shimmer who allow the
creation of a personalized application that it is capable of measuring biosignals
of the patient in real time is described throughout this dissertation
SMART CLOTHING IN HEALTHCARE AND CAREGIVING
Pametna odjeća je, uz e- odjeću i inteligentnu
odjeću, vrsta odjeće koja ima ugrađene električke
i elektroničke komponente te uređaje poput
mikroračunala i zaslona čime se omogućava
dvosmjerna komunikacija između odjevnog
predmeta okoliša ili nositelja takve vrste
odjeće. Integrirane elektroničke komponente
omogućavaju, između ostalog, praćenje i
motrenje vitalnih funkcija nositelja pametne
odjeće. Realizacija pametne odjeće zahtjeva
interdisciplinarna znanja, te se stoga u timovima
koji razvijaju takvu vrstu odjeće nalaze stručnjaci
iz podruÄŤja tekstilnog i odjevnog inĹľenjerstva, ali
i iz podruÄŤja automatizacije odnosno strojarstva,
elektronike i informatike, te kemije i biologije.
U ovom radu je prikazan razvoj pametne odjeće,
opisani su senzori koji se mogu integrirati
u odjeću u svrhu motrenja vitalnih funkcija
bolesnika i rekonvalescenata. Dat je pregled
postojećih primjera pametne odjeće namijenjene
navedenoj ciljnoj skupini. Također su opisani
i naÄŤini dobave elektriÄŤne energije potrebne za
rad svih elektroničkih komponenata ugrađenih
u odjeću. U konačnici, prikazan je studentski
projekt projektiranja pametne odjeće za praćenje
i motrenje signala srÄŤanog pulsa na tzv. open
sorce platformi Arduino. Projektiranje prototipa
pametna kape koja je u stanju motriti stanje
otkucaja srčanog pulsa načinjeno je na Tekstilnotehnološkom
fakultetu u Zavodu za odjevnu
tehnologiju. Temeljna ideja je bila izraditi prototip
odjevnog predmeta koji će, u skladu s brzim
razvojem tehnologije kojom se svakodnevno
susrećemo, omogućiti jednostavan i interaktivan
način praćenja rada srca svakog individualnog
nositelja pametne kape. Podaci otkucaja srca
se mjere pomoću adekvatnog senzora, a na
pametnom telefonu, putem Bluetooth-a i
prikladne mobilne aplikacije, se prikazuju
izmjerene vrijednosti.Smart clothing, also known as electronic textiles,
smart garments or smart textiles, are wearables
that have built-in electronic and electrical
components and devices. The digital components,
such as screens and microcomputers, embedded
in clothing enable a two-way communication
system between the wearer’s environment and the
wearer himself. The integrated components track
and monitor the wearer’s vital functions which
ultimately provides added value to the wearer.
The implementation of wearable technology is
interdisciplinary; therefore, teams developing
such clothing are made up of textile and clothing
engineers, engineers in the field of automation,
electronic and information technology, chemists
and biologists.This paper presents a review of
smart clothing used for healthcare. There is a
given description of the sensors that are integrated
for the purpose of monitoring vital functions
in healthcare and caregiving. There is a given
overview of existing examples of wearables used
for monitoring vital functions and a description
of how to supply components with electrical
energy. As a student project, this paper shows the
design of a prototype wearable for tracking and
monitoring heart rate with the help of Arduino,
an open-source platform that enables creating
interactive electronic objects. The project is
designed in the Clothing Technology department
of the Faculty of Textile Technology. The
underlying idea was to create a prototype that
will, in accordance with the rapid development of
technology, monitor the heart rate performance
of each smart cap wearer. The heart rate data is
measured and displayed on a smartphone via
Bluetooth technology and mobile application
Vastasyntyneen ja imeväisikäisen vauvan unenaikaisen hengitys- ja syketaajuuden tarkkailu puettavalla liikeanturilla
Vastasyntyneelle ja imeväisikäiselle nukkuminen on elintärkeä toiminto, ja se on välttämätöntä aivoverkkojen kehitykselle. Tiedetään, että huono unenlaatu aiheuttaa pitkällä tähtäimellä muun muassa kasvun hidastumista ja käyttäytymisongelmia. Imeväisikäisillä melko yleisesti esiintyvät unihäiriöt, kuten yöheräily ja nukahtamisvaikeudet aiheuttavat merkittävää rasitusta ja huolta vanhemmille. Objektiivisen mittausmenetelmän puutteen vuoksi ei ole kuitenkaan voitu selvittää imeväisikäisen unen kehittymistä kotiolosuhteissa. Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin puettaviin pöksyihin kiinnitetyn liikeanturin ja EKG-kangaselektrodien soveltuvuutta vastasyntyneiden ja imeväisikäisten vauvojen unenaikaisen hengityksen ja sykkeen tarkkailuun. Tutkimuksen ensimmäisessä vaiheessa päiväaikaisten uni-EEG-tutkimuksien yhteydessä verrattiin liikeanturin mittauskanavien rekisteröimiä mittauskäyriä pietsoanturilla varustettuun hengitysvyöhön. Saatujen tutkimustuloksien perusteella liikeanturin gyroskooppi osoittautui tarkimmaksi hengitystaajuutta mittaavaksi parametriksi, kun taas anturin välittämä EKG-signaali oli tulkintakelpoisin osin luotettavaa. Tutkimuksen toisessa vaiheessa vauvaperheille annettiin unipöksyt ja älypuhelimet kotiin arvioidaksemme yön yli kestävää kotikäyttöä. Tutkimustulokset viittaavat siihen, että eri unitilojen tunnistaminen hengityksen vaihtelusta olisi todennäköisesti mahdollista gyroskooppisignaalista. Vanhemmilta saadun palautteen perusteella unipöksyjä pidettiin käytännöllisinä ja helppokäyttöisinä. Tulevissa tutkimuksissa tulisi keskittyä liikeanturin validointiin kliinisesti hyväksyttyjen mittausparametrien avulla, jotta algoritmeja voisi opettaa tunnistamaan eri uni-valve rytmejä automaattisesti. Näin puettava liikeanturi voisi tarjota tietoa vauvan luonnollisen unirakenteen kehittymisestä pitkällä aikavälillä. Lisäksi anturin kliininen validointi voisi mahdollistaa imeväisikäisten kardiorespiratoristen ongelmien ja liikehäiriöiden diagnostisen lisätyökalun kehittämisen.Sleep is one of the most vital functions of newborns and infants, and it is essential for neuronal network development. Therefore, long-term sleep disturbances have been associated with growth delays and behavioral disorders. Commonly reported infant sleep disturbances, such as night awakenings and difficulties falling asleep, cause distress to parents. Yet, the development of infant sleep in the home environment has not been fully elucidated due to lack of objective measurement parameters. In the current study, we assessed the feasibility of a motion sensor, attached to wearable pants, and ECG textile electrodes to monitor sleep-related respiration and heart rate of newborns and infants. First, we compared signals recorded by the motion sensor’s measurement channels to the standard respiratory piezo effort belt’s signal during daytime EEG recordings. According to our results, the motion sensor’s gyroscope proved to measure respiratory rate most accurately, while the ECG signal transmitted by the sensor was reliable in interpretable sections. We then provided wearable garments and smartphones to families with infants to assess overnight home-use. Our results indicate that different sleep states could likely be identified based on respiration fluctuation visible in the gyroscope’s signals. Moreover, the wearable system was considered practical and easy to use by the parents. Future studies should focus on validating the sensor with clinically approved measures, in order to train the algorithms to automatically identify different sleep-wake states. By doing so, the wearable sensor could provide information on natural infant sleep structure development over long time periods. Additionally, clinical validation of the sensor may result in the development of a companion diagnostic tool for infant cardiorespiratory and movement disorders