Smart Clothes for Better Healthcare
From: ICT Results - 07/20/2009

The European HealthWear project has embedded sensing devices directly into
textiles, creating clothing capable of monitoring the wearer's heart,
breathing, and body temperature. "Remote monitoring is ideally suited to
patients suffering from chronic diseases or recovering from an incident, such
as a heart attack, who would otherwise have to spend longer [periods of time]
in a hospital or visit their doctor more frequently for checkups," says
project supervisor Theodore Vontetsianos. "By embedding the sensors in a vest
that patients feel comfortable wearing, and requiring only a mobile
phone-sized device to gather and transmit the information, the system
empowers patients to be more active and independent while letting caregivers
check on them at any time or in any place as necessary." The HealthWear
system collects information from numerous sensors using a single device
called the Portable Patient Unit (PPU). The embedded sensors include a
six-lead electrocardiograph, respiration movement, pulse rate and skin
temperature monitors, and an external oximeter to measure blood oxygen
saturation. A three-dimensional accelerometer, inside the PPU, measures body
position. The collected information is stored in the wearer's electronic
health record and can be accessed over a secure Internet connection. The
HealthWear developers say the PPU could eventually be replaced with a normal
mobile phone. 

Read the entire article at:
http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/index.cfm?section=news&tpl=article&BrowsingType=Features&ID=90754

Links:
HealthWear
http://www.health-wear.eu/

Smart Clothes Promote Healthy Living
http://www.azom.com/news.asp?newsID=18161
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1723349/smart_clothes_for_better_healthcare/index.html
http://www.physorg.com/news167322076.html