Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech

This new ‘smart shirt’ can monitor your vital signs

April 18, 2017 By Danielle Kirsh

man holding smartphone on track viewing smart shirt data

[Image from Holst Center]

Holst Center researchers have created a smart shirt that uses state-of-the-art printed electronics technology to track vital signs.

IMEC, a Belgian research and development and innovation hub that specializes in nanoelectronics and digital technologies, developed a medical-grade electrocardiogram (ECG) with breathing rate and breathing depth. Researchers at Holst in the Netherlands used the IMEC ECG in their “smart shirt” prototype, designed for use in a variety of applications since the sensors are 60 µm thin and up to 100% stretchable.

The shirt continuously monitors ECG, respiration and motion with an IMEC ultra-low power, multi-sensor data acquisition chip. Using compact and distinct dry electrodes, the smart shirt monitors the heart without the need for a chest strap. The electrodes are made from screen-printable, electrically-conductive inks made by DuPont and the detachable sensor is 50-by-30-by-10 mm and weighs only 12 g.

A single battery charge allows the shirt to be operational for two days because of its low-power sensor and radio electronics. It can also withstand 25 wash cycles in domestic laundry using the Holst Center technology.

“The new vital signs shirt demonstrator shows how printed electronics can truly improve lives, in this case by enabling continuous and precise monitoring of clinical-grade, biometric data from the comfort of one’s home,” said Kerry Adams, printed electronics market segment manager at DuPont, said in a press release. “We are proud to enable this kind of innovation with our stretchable electronic inks and look forward to our continued participation in Holst Center’s printed electronics development program.”

Data that is gathered from the sensors in the shirt can be transferred wirelessly to a smartphone using the shirt’s wireless BTLE system for real-time readings. The developers hope that the shirt could help hospital patients get home sooner from the hospital by creating a high-quality cardiac monitor from home.

“As a designer, the technology platform from the Holst Center ecosystem is great to work with. You are completely free to design any kind of garment and application you want to, and know that the designed electronics will be easily integrated as part of the normal manufacturing process,” said shirt designer Marina Toeters, from by-wire.net.

The electrodes in the shirt can be laminated to any piece of clothing at the final stage of production. The “smart shirt” design allows for it to be easily tailored for the best electrode to skin contact. That allows it to suppress motion artifacts that are beneficial for the performance of the electronics and the user.

E-textiles, also known as smart clothing, are not a new concept. Many smart garments have electronics embedded into them, like small computers or fiber optics, for health monitoring and fashion, according to a Forbes article. Designers Ying Gao and CuteCircuit use e-textiles to create LED lighted clothes, while R&D company Grado Zero Espace is creating innovative technologies with different types of materials.

[Want to stay more on top of MDO content? Subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter.]

Related Articles Read More >

Dexcom One
How Dexcom’s portfolio goes beyond highly-anticipated next-gen G7
An illustration of a cloud-shaped room filled with medical devices
The cloud is transforming medtech: Amazon, Microsoft, Google, J&J, Philips and GE Healthcare leaders explain
Caretaker Medical VitalStream
FDA clears four new parameters for Caretaker Medical’s wireless patient monitoring system
A roll of medical tape
3M launches 21-day adhesive skin tape for medical devices

DeviceTalks Weekly.

May 20, 2022
DeviceTalks Boston Post-Game – Editors’ Top Moments, Insulet’s Eric Benjamin on future of Omnipod 5
See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

Enewsletter Subscriptions

Enewsletter Subscriptions

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech 100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to E-newsletter
  • Attend our Monthly Webinars
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • Med Tech Resources
    • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • The Big 100
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Video
  • 2022 Leadership in MedTech
    • 2022 Leadership Voting!
    • 2021 Winners
    • 2020 Winners
  • Women in Medtech