Smart Clothing Framework for Health Monitoring Applications

Abstract

Wearable technologies are making a significant impact on people’s way of living thanks to the advancements in mobile communication, internet of things (IoT), big data and artificial intelligence. Conventional wearable technologies present many challenges for the continuous monitoring of human health conditions due to their lack of flexibility and bulkiness in size. Recent development in e-textiles and the smart integration of miniature electronic devices into textiles have led to the emergence of smart clothing systems for remote health monitoring. A novel comprehensive framework of smart clothing systems for health monitoring is proposed in this paper. This framework provides design specifications, suitable sensors and textile materials for smart clothing (e.g., leggings) development. In addition, the proposed framework identifies techniques for empowering the seamless integration of sensors into textiles and suggests a development strategy for health diagnosis and prognosis through data collection, data processing and decision making. The conceptual technical specification of smart clothing is also formulated and presented. The detailed development of this framework is presented in this paper with selected examples. The key challenges in popularizing smart clothing and opportunities of future development in diverse application areas such as healthcare, sports and athletics and fashion are discussed.

Changes in characteristics of silver conductive fabrics owing to perspiration and washing

“…2,3 This could potentially drastically change the way athletes are trained and monitored physiologically, ultimately improving their performance during games. 1,4,5…”

Antenna Systems in Medical Masks: Applications for 5G FR1 and Wi-Fi 7 Wireless Systems

“…Various wearable devices have different functions according to the needs of different industries such as changing the way of work in various industries, improving people's work efficiency, or generating new ways of working [2]. From the recent research literature on the development of wearable devices, in the next few years, wearable devices will also bring astonishing industrial value; there will also be more and more different applications [3], such as smart wristbands, smart rings, smart clothes, smart pants, etc. To cooperate with ergonomics to achieve the best fit, or to measure the vital signs on the body surface, wearable devices must be attached to the torso, arms, legs, head, etc., so that part of the shape will be curved in order to achieve the best fit [4].…”

“…For example, medical personnel need to wear various medical protective equipment, including medical protective masks, masks, protective clothing, and gloves. This medical protective equipment can be transformed into wearable devices by adding electronic equipment [3,4]. One of the important items is to join a wireless…”

Consumers’ knowledge and acceptance of smart clothing

“…In addition, several types of smart sportswear are in development or on the market to improve performance and health of athletes. Due to the many sources the latest brief reviews of smart clothing applications can be found in [11][12][13].…”