SmartTex - A DIY Textile-Based Multi-Modal Sensing System for Non-Invasive Health Monitoring Applications.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Non-invasive health monitoring is advancing with wearable sensors for real-time physiological tracking.
• Fabric-based sensors offer a promising avenue for developing comfortable and integrated wearable health solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a low-cost, DIY fabric-based multimodal sensor platform.
• To integrate electrochemical, deformation, and pressure sensing for monitoring sweat glucose, breath rate, and step counts.

Main Methods:

• Utilized commercially available conductive fabric (Adafruit 1364) and accessible fabrication techniques (heat bonding, Cricut Maker 3).
• Validated the electrochemical glucose sensor using Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV).
• Integrated deformation and pressure sensors into shoe soles for breath rate and step counting.

Main Results:

• Achieved a sensitivity of 2.94 μA μM^-1 for the electrochemical glucose sensor with stable responses.
• Successfully tracked breathing patterns using the deformation-based sensor.
• Detected ankle positions and pressure variations for accurate step counting.

Conclusions:

• Demonstrated the feasibility of an affordable, multimodal fabric-based sensor for personalized health monitoring.
• This platform lays the groundwork for next-generation wearable and ubiquitous sensing technologies.