Potential applications for this range from monitoring exercise, sleep quality and stress, to diagnosing and monitoring disease through breath and vital signs.
The sensors cost very little to manufacture, spun from a new Imperial-developed cotton-based conductive thread called Pecotex. For around 10p, one metre of thread can be produced to seamlessly integrate more than ten sensors into clothing. Pecotex is also compatible with industry-standard computerised embroidery machines.
Fahad Alshabouna, first author of the research and a PhD candidate at Imperial’s Department of Bioengineering, said: “The flexible medium of clothing means our sensors have a wide range of applications. They’re also relatively easy to produce which means we could scale up manufacturing and usher in a new generation of wearables in clothing.”
The research team has embroidered the sensors into a face mask to monitor breathing, a t-shirt to monitor heart activity, and other textiles...
