Researchers at Rice University in Houston, Texas, US, have found a way to weave "smart clothing" that can monitor your heart. [1] A snug athletic shirt was created with conductive carbon nanotube fibres that is said to be able to measure your heart rate efficiently and accurately. Researchers state that the nanotube fibres sewn into the shirt were successfully able to take a continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) of the wearer. The fibres were turned into sewable threads that in turn functioned as conductive as metal wires. The heart rate monitor is shown in figure 1.

Figure 1: The Heart Rate Monitor [2]

Two types of shirts were produced: one with two threads that acted as a heart rate monitor, and another with five threads that acted as an ECG machine. The conductive threads were then connected to a Bluetooth transmitter, using the snaps in the neck; the threads basically acted as electrodes. [3] This was connected to a commercial heart rate monitor, and one of the study authors wore the shirt, periodically running and walking to vary his heart rate. At the same time, FDA-approved equipment recorded ECGs from the T-shirt, and the data were compared with data obtained at the same time, using commercial equipment. The data was sent to three cardiologists for evaluation.

Carbon nanotube threads are ideal for wearable textiles; it is soft and flexible, machine washable, and is easily integrated into clothing or textiles, like standard thread. Its electrical conductivity is on par with metals, yet has better chemical resistance, can withstand greater flex fatigue, and has higher tensile strength.

The original nanotube filaments, at about 22 microns wide, were too thin for a sewing machine to handle. Taylor said a rope-maker was used to create a sewable thread, essentially three bundles of seven filaments each, woven into a size roughly equivalent to regular thread.

The shirts can be easily manufactured in different sizes to fit an array of ages and body types, Dagdeviren says. [4] She plans to begin developing other types of garments, such as pants, and is working on incorporating additional sensors for monitoring blood oxygen levels and other indicators of health.

This kind of sensing could be useful for personalized telemedicine, allowing doctors to remotely monitor patients while patients remain at home, Dagdeviren says, or to monitor astronauts' health while they're in space.

The wearable market, although relatively small, could be an entry point for a new generation of sustainable materials that can be derived from hydrocarbons via direct splitting, [5] a process that also produces clean hydrogen. Development of such materials is a focus of the Carbon Hub. “We’re in the same situation as solar cells were a few decades ago,” Pasquali said. “We need application leaders that can provide a pull for scaling up production and increasing efficiency.”

References:

1. https://gadgets360.com/science/news/smart-shirt-heart-monitor-ecg-nanotube-fibre-clothing-fabric-rice-university-research-2525820
2. https://www.techtimes.com/articles/264786/20210831/smart-shirt-now-monitor-heart-rate-conduct-ecg-thanks-carbon.htm
3. https://www.zmescience.com/science/this-smart-t-shirt-uses-carbon-to-double-as-a-heart-monitor
4. https://news.rice.edu/news/2021/smart-shirt-keeps-tabs-heart

Cite this article:

Vinotha D (2022), The Smart T-Shirt Monitor the Humans Heart Rate, AnaTechMaz, pp.180