While there are many smart textile-based garments on the market that perform continuous cardiac and respiratory monitoring, they generally use flexible electronic components that are integrated with the textiles. Such clothing tends to be form-fitting and thus uncomfortable to be able to get a good physiological signal. Additionally, the garments aren’t robust, as they’re difficult to wash and the electronic components are damaged over time.
This invention, by Professors Trisha Andrew and Deepak Ganesan, enables physiological sensing with loose clothing. Smart garments incorporates two types of all-textile pressure sensors: a triboelectric sensor based on the contact between two oppositely charged fabrics, and a first-of-its-kind all-textile static pressure sensor. The triboelectric sensor is used for sensing dynamic pressure, and the static pressure measures pressure between the body and a surface, such as a bed, chair, or arms resting at a person’s side. The signals from these two types of sensors, which are connected to the electronics via conductive threads, are processed through a novel signal processing pipeline that can fit in a clothing button. Measurables include posture, respiration, heartbeat, gait, sway, and balance.
Applications for these garments are wide ranging, including sleep sensing, health monitoring, and next-generation virtual reality (VR).
TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION
ADVANTAGES
• Enables physiological sensing in comfortable, loose-fitting clothing
• Machine washable and reusable
• Broad measurement capabilities: Heart rate, respiration, posture, gait, balance, sway
• Can measure static and dynamic pressures through many orders of magnitude
PRODUCT OPPORTUNITIES
• Home health monitoring
• Clinical health monitoring
• Clothing for virtual reality
• Exercise and athletic performance monitoring
• Military performance monitoring
ABOUT THE INVENTORS
Trisha L. Andrew is an Associate Professor of Chemistry and Materials Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She started her independent career in 2012 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was an Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Electrical Engineering. She received her education at the University of Washington (B.S.) and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D.). Trisha is the Director of the Wearable Electronics Lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The WELab strives to produce emergent electronic technologies on unconventional substrates by using organic materials to achieve unmatched control over processing conditions, device dimensions and the spin of charge carriers. Trisha is a David and Lucille Packard Foundation Fellow, and an Air Force Young Investigator and 3M Nontenured Faculty Award winner.
Deepak Ganesan is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at UMass Amherst. His research focuses on ultra-low power wireless communication via backscatter, novel platforms and algorithms for mobile and wearable health sensing, learning and inference on multi-modal sensor data, and micro-powered sensors. Dr. Ganesan leads the UMass Sensors Research Group.
AVAILABILITY:
Available for Licensing and/or Sponsored Research
DOCKET:
UMA 19-027
PATENT STATUS:
Patent Issued
NON-CONFIDENTIAL INVENTION DISCLOSURE
LEAD INVENTOR:
Trisha Andrew and Deepak Ganesan
CONTACT: