Find fabric turning materials into health monitoring devices

Scientists say it may someday be computerized fabric that can transform any normal clothing or cloth into Fitbit - a health monitoring device that has ever been developed earlier.

This fabric is made of soft and wide sensors, which can transmit data on a variety of human body movements. Newly developed high-sensitivity technology can be used to create "smart suits" - in which your clothes are like digital devices.

Most of the wearable / wearable devices today are hard and uncomfortable, which limits the movement of users. So most sensors are used to collect and transmit data in these devices. The Harvard and Massachusetts University team of scientists combined computer elements into fabrics to create a sensor that people can wear comfortably.

As well as the health monitoring suits, this new material can one day monitor human movements for long-term health care. This is done by forming a soft skeleton around the user.

The co-author of the study, Dr. Conor Walsh, said: "We are really excited about this sensor, because by taking advantage of textile products in construction, it is suitable for integrating with fabric. to create "smart" hand clothes.

Professor Donald Ingber, the lead author of the study, added: "This technology opens up new ways to diagnose and these combined therapies will certainly play a central role in health care. at home in the future '.

The group's technology consists of a thin silicone sheet sandwiched between two layers of conductive fabric, creating something called a capacitive sensor . This type of sensor can track even the smallest movements by constantly monitoring small currents as they pass through the material.

New material for health monitoring.(Photo: Harvard).

"When we apply pressure by pulling the sensor from end to end, the silicone layer becomes thinner and the fabric layers move closer. This changes the capacitance of the sensor, the change. "This change is proportional to the amount of pressure. We can measure the degree of change of the sensor ," said study co-author Daniel Vogt.

The new material is sensitive enough to measure the amount of physical pressure from movements less than half a millimeter, the researchers said. To test this, the researchers integrated a fabric sensor into the glove to measure small hand and finger movements in real time.

The sensors have successfully detected the variation of capacitance on each finger as they move, while tracking relative positions over time.

Co-author Vanessa Sanchez said: "We create more sensitive sensors which means they have the ability to distinguish smaller movements. For example, the sensor will detect movement when the user moves slightly. fingers aside, not just powerful movements like clenching their fists and releasing them ".

Although there are many results, the material is only the initial evidence of a new health monitoring idea. But the researchers hope that this flexible technology could be used for other 'catch-up' applications.

These applications include performance monitoring sports apparel or soft clinical devices to monitor patients in the medical environment.

Ozgur Atalay, co-author of the study, said in the newspaper: "This work shows the promising results of tracking human movement in sports. It can optimize performance, or be used for training purposes ".

'For example, a golfer can wear a built-in sensor to train himself in the right postures, or an athlete can optimize his performance by learning from sensor responses. '.