The MAIN Shirt: A Textile-Integrated Magnetic Induction Sensor Array

Abstract

A system is presented for long-term monitoring of respiration and pulse. It comprises four non-contact sensors based on magnetic eddy current induction that are textile-integrated into a shirt. The sensors are technically characterized by laboratory experiments that investigate the sensitivity and measuring depth, as well as the mutual interaction between adjacent pairs of sensors. The ability of the device to monitor respiration and pulse is demonstrated by measurements in healthy volunteers. The proposed system (called the MAIN (magnetic induction) Shirt) does not need electrodes or any other skin contact. It is wearable, unobtrusive and can easily be integrated into an individual's daily routine. Therefore, the system appears to be a suitable option for long-term monitoring in a domestic environment or any other unsupervised telemonitoring scenario.

Development of a Wearable Instrumented Vest for Posture Monitoring and System Usability Verification Based on the Technology Acceptance Model

“…For example, a magnetic induction sensor array was textile-integrated into a shirt, the MAIN Shirt [12], for long-term monitoring of respiration and pulse. In addition, some next-generation pieces of clothing featuring posture and activity monitoring functions have been announced in recent years.…”

Eddy current imaging with an atomic radio-frequency magnetometer

“…This allows for biological and bio-medical applications, e.g. creating maps of the saline concentration in biological tissue [13] or non-contact measurements of the human heart rate [14]. Furthermore, the ability to create images with the same sensor over a wide range of detection frequencies is beneficial [15] for the sensitive discrimination of different materials, as demonstrated in this letter.…”

Magnetic cotton yarns – optimization of magnetic properties

“…barium ferrite, which allows the addition of a thin magnetic layer on the yarn surface. Magnetic yarns obtained in this way can be used for designing textile magnetic elements as well as electronic circuits and devices as parts of intelligent clothing, for example, those which can be used to monitor selected human physiological parameters (Teichmann, Kuhn, Leonhardt, & Walter, 2014;Wiak, Firych-Nowacka, & Smółka, 2010). In addition, these magnetic yarns can be inserted in woven or knitted fabrics for designing protective garments for EMI shielding.…”