Kyle
A team of engineers out of the University of Arkansas have developed a new wireless health monitoring system being dubbed “e-bra”. The “e-bra” has textile sensors built in that monitor cardiac signs, blood pressure, body temperature, respiratory rate, oxygen consumption, and even some neural activity. The sensor laden bra communicates all of this information back to a smart phone.
The system that’s designed to be outfitted in a sports bra for women or possibly a vest for men does not require any kind of cuff and could function as a replacement for at home blood pressure monitors.
“Our e-bra enables continuous, real-time monitoring to identify any pathophysiological changes,” said Vijay Varadan, Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering. “It is a platform on which various sensors for cardiac-health monitoring are integrated into the fabric. The garment collects and transmits vital health signals to any desired location in the world.”
The sensors themselves are smaller than a dime and include gold nano wires. They also have flexible conducting textile nano sensors. The textile sensors are than woven into the bra and don’t require sticky adhesives or gels.
More after the break
The sensory data is gathered in a snap on wireless module that sits just below the breast and is smaller than a typical ring box. The wireless module is a mini computer complete with antenna, printed circuit board, microprocessor, battery and BlueTooth module. The BlueTooth module can send the data back to any smartphone or a computer.
The data can be used on the computer for diagnostic and alaytic purposes. Developers will be able to develop apps for smartphones (Android and iPhone) that can take the data into account for fitness and other applications outside of just typical health monitoring. According to the University of Arkansas, athletes will be able to monitor all of the signs mentioned above along with other things like calories burned during a workout.
At this time the E-Bra is a research project for Varadan. His research on an e-nanoflex sensory system have been published by the Journal of Nanotechnology in Engineering and Medicine.
Linkage:
Read this article about the e-bra at the University of Arkansas
Read this article about the e-bra at the NY Daily News
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