Smart Clothes: Textiles That Track Your Health

A European project known as BIOTEX is aimed at weaving small body sensors into fabrics in order to monitor vital signs constantly. Ultimately, the goal is to use the data collected by these sensors to alert doctors when the vital signs of the person wearing the clothing are dangerous. The sensors analyze the content of minimal amounts of body fluid like sweat and blood. The biosensors are used to measure sodium, potassium, and chloride levels, pH of sweat, and oxygen saturation of blood. In order to transport small amounts of sweat to the sensors a network of hydrophilic and hydrophobic yarns, which cuts down on the power demands of the system. Ultimately, the BIOTEX patches will be used to monitor the vital signs of patients suffering from obesity and diabetes. There is still research needed to utilize the complete benefit of these fabrics, but a continuous monitoring of body fluids will prove to be very beneficial in the treatment of metabolic diseases.