The researchers, from the George R Brown School of Engineering lab at Rice University, sewed nanotube fibres into athletic wear to monitor the heart rate and take a continual electrocardiogram (ECG) of the wearer.
According to the team, the fibres are just as conductive as metal wires and are washable, comfortable, and far less likely to break when a body is in motion.
They added that the shirt they enhanced was better at gathering data than a standard chest-strap monitor taking live measurements during experiments. When matched with commercial medical electrode monitors, the carbon nanotube shirt gave slightly better ECGs.
“The shirt has to be snug against the chest,” said Rice graduate student Lauren Taylor. “In future studies, we will focus on using denser patches of carbon nanotube threads so there’s more surface area to contact the skin.”
The research team noted nanotube fibres are flexible, and clothing that incorporates them is machine washable...