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Title

A wearable health care system based on knitted integrated sensors (Ref: 08 IT 55W4 0JB4 )

Deadline

Tue, October 20, 2009

Abstract

An Italian company has developed a wearable fully integrated system, able to acquire a set of physiological parameters like electrocardiogram, respiration, posture, temperature, movement index. Sensors and connections are integrated into the fabric structure, conductive fibres are woven with stretchable yarns. The system is targeting the monitoring of patients suffering from heart diseases during and after their rehabilitation. The SME is looking for technical cooperation for joint development.

Description

An Italian SME has developed and tested a shirt capable of recording the electrocardiogram (electrical activity of the heart). The shirt takes advantage of the technology of “smart textiles”, i.e. textiles endowed with a wide range of electrophysical properties and containing various sensors of biological parameters, in particular tissue electrodes. By twisting stainless steel wires around a viscose yarn a fabric was produced which is capable of working as an electrode (a device to record electrical activity) and therefore able to be used to record the electrocardiogram. The shirt has also the potential to record and transmit other parameters such as respiratory activity, body temperature and movement. The shirt looks like a common shirt and is connected to a small electronical device, which records the electrocardiogram and can transmit it by GPRS network (like a common mobile phone) or by bluetooth connection (like the wireless device used for personal computers or earphones). Once the e-textile’s sensors read the data, it is transmitted to the hospital’s computing system, either by a wireless connection, for patients at the hospital, or via a modem and an Internet connection, for remote patients. With the data available through the hospital’s main computer system, doctors can access the data at any time and through many means. With this system, a portable module called the PPU (portable patient unit), which the patient wears on his belt, receives the signals from the sensors and electrodes built into the e-textile. The sensors and electrodes use the wiring built 3 directly into the e-textile to send the data to the PPU. The PPU then converts and processes the signals before transmitting them to the main computing system, using GPRS (General Packet Radio Service).
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Innovations and advantages of the offer

The system is an innovative device able to provide improved health care to users. The integration of multiple parameters and their continuous transmission to a monitoring clinical center makes the system quite unique and different from currently used medical devices. The shirt may be of considerable value as a device for telemedicine services dedicated to the remote care of cardiac patient. Cardiac patients could be monitored at home by simply wearing the shirt and turning on the portable transmission device. This is particularly important as new strategies for home care are pursued to reduce hospital stay and admissions and reduce health care costs. This wearable health care system provides some amazing benefits to patients, giving them incredible flexibility in their day-to-day lives while keeping tabs on their health, and to doctors, giving them far more information with which to diagnose illnesses.
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List of Keywords

Technology:
- Electronic circuits, components and equipment
- Advanced Textile Materials
- Medical Textiles
- Assessment of Risk
Market:
- Diagnostic test products and equipment
- Monitoring equipment
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Current Stage of Development

Available for demonstration - field tested
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Exploitation of RTD Results

None
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Intellectual Property Rights

Secret know-how
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Collaboration Type

Joint further development
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Comments

- Type of partner sought:
Knowledge-intensive SMEs with experience in adaptive textile materials.
- Specific area of activity of the partner:
Smart textiles.
- Task to be performed:
Joint further development and multi-functionalisation of textile materials.
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Targeted Countries

All
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