Smart helmet: Monitoring brain, cardiac and respiratory activity

The timing of the assessment of the injuries following a road-traffic accident involving motorcyclists is absolutely crucial, particularly in the events with head trauma. Standard apparatus for monitoring cardiac activity is usually attached to the limbs or the torso, while the brain function is routinely measured with a separate unit connected to the head-mounted sensors. In stark contrast to these, we propose an integrated system which incorporates the two functionalities inside an ordinary motorcycle helmet. Multiple fabric electrodes were mounted inside the helmet at positions featuring good contact with the skin at different sections of the head. The experimental results demonstrate that the R-peaks (and therefore the heart rate) can be reliably extracted from potentials measured with electrodes on the mastoids and the lower jaw, while the electrodes on the forehead enable the observation of neural signals. We conclude that various vital sings and brain activity can be readily recorded from the inside of a helmet in a comfortable and inconspicuous way, requiring only a negligible setup effort.