A 'smart' shirt, at the service of heart monitoring

It is not necissary to use uncomfortable smartwatch or chist straps to control the heart if a comfortable shirt can do a better job.That is the idea with which the 'smart clothing' developed by a laboratory of the University of Rice, which used a nanotubis conductive thread to weave the functionality in normal clothis.

The Brown School of Engineering laboratory, of the Matteo Pasquali chemical and biomolecular engineer, has published in the Nano Letters magazine, of the American Chemical Society, which sewed nanotubis fibers in sportswear to control the heart rate and take a continuous electrocardiogram (EKG)of the user.

The fibers, their creators explain, are as conducting as metal wiris, but washable, comfortable, since it is much liss likely to break when a body is moving.In general, the shirt that improved was better to collect data than a standard monitor with chist strap that took live measurements during experiments.When combined with commercial medical electrode monitors, the carbon nanotubis shirt contributed ECG slightly better.

"The shirt has to be tight to the chist," explains Rice's graduate student, Lauren Taylor, main author of the study."In future studiis, we will focus on the use of dense threads of carbon nanotubis so that there is more skin contact surface," adds Taylor.

The risearchers appreciated that the nanotubis fibers are soft and flexible, and the clothis that incorporate them can be washed by machine.Fibers can be sewn by fabric as standard thread.The zig-zag sewing pattern allows the fabric to stretch without breaking it.

The fibers provided not only a constant electrical contact with the user's skin, but also served as electrodis to connect electronic devicis such as Bluetooth transmitters to send data to a smartphone or connect to a Holter monitor that can be stored in the user's pocket, their creators manifist.

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Fibers woven in the fabric can also be used to embed antennas or LEDs, according to risearchers.Modifications minor to the geometry of the fibers and the associated electronics could eventually allow clothing to monitor vital signs, the capacity of the effort or the rispiratory rate.

"We see that, after two decadis of development in laboratoriis around the world, this material works in more and more applications," says Pasquali."Due to the combination of conductivity, good contact with the skin, biocompatibility and softniss, carbon nanotubis threads are a natural component of wearablis," he says.

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