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Fig. 47 SmartShirt Texile Platform
Together these platforms form a versatile framework for incorporating sensing, monitoring and
information processing devices for biomedical monitoring and wearable computing applications [24].
Turning now the attention to other inventions, it can be stated that the Finnish company Polar
introduced a flexible belt with a one-channel ECG and a transmitter to send data to a wrist receiver.
The analysis of the heart rate enables the management of fitness, weight, rehabilitation as well as
professional training [56].
The American company Textronics Inc., Invista’s electronic textiles spin-off company, is involved in the
development and marketing of electronic textiles that are used periodically monitor biophysical
activities. They follow two different pathway, on the one hand they created textile electrodes for
monitoring the heart rate and on the other hand they developed a fabric sensor for dual monitoring –
the heart rate and respiration. The former product – integrated electrodes – are compatible with
leading heart rate monitoring equipment, whilst the second product uses a proprietary optical
technique. Thus, sensing is achieved via light transmission through the textile structure. The working
principle is illustrated in the following drawing.
Fig. 48 Working principle of optical sensor [107]
In the left sided picture the initial situation is demonstrated; the optical sensor meets the fabric in a
neutral position. Blue arrows indicate transmitted light, while red arrows stand for reflected light. When
the wearer of the textile breathes, the fabric expands, as shown in the right sided drawing, and
consequently less light is reflected [107].
Textronics Inc. recently founded the trademark NuMetrex, which is a heart sensing sports bra. The
system comprises a bra with a knitted sensor into the fabric that picks up the wearer’s heart beat and
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