This one takes the cake - enjly all Regards Sandee Peace is easy ... it is a Mindset http://www.alive-again.net/
New Clothing Designs Come With Health Sensors 31/03/2008 A range of new clothing is now entering the market place, but the speciality of these items is that they are able to measure your body heat and heart rate through tiny sensors woven into the fabric at key places. This European project called BIOTEX is a collaborative effort from several EU research units in universities and small enterprises from Italy, France and Ireland, coordinated by Jean Luprano, from the Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM). Discussing the potential for 'smart fabrics' as they are being called, Jean Luprano said that "One of the most obvious applications for smart fabrics is in the medical field." He then went on to say that "There has been a good deal of progress with physiological measurements, body temperature or electro-cardiograms. But no-one has yet developed biochemical sensing techniques that can take measurements from fluids like sweat and blood. We are developing a suite of sensors that can be integrated into a textile patch. The patch is a sensing and processing unit, adaptable to target different body fluids and biochemical species. At the very least, some basic biochemical analyses could complement the physiological measurements that can already be monitored. In some circumstances, fluidic analysis may be the only way to get information on a patient's health status." There have been many unique obstacles encountered while undertaking this project and one of the chief ones was being able to measure sodium, potassium and chloride in sweat samples. This was eventually achieved by inventing a suite of prototype ionic biosensors. The pH of sweat is measured using a miniaturised pH sensor that detects tiny colour changes, whereas specific proteins in fluid samples are detected with an immunosensor that can be incorporated into the dressings put over wounds to the skin. Regarding the medical application of this technology, Loprano said that "It's new and healthcare providers are not used to it. We are not used to the information that continuous, remote monitoring can provide � so different to the one-off laboratory tests that are usually taken. BIOTEX makes this remote monitoring possible, but more research into the links between these indicators and disease conditions and states will make it realistic. Nevertheless, in the long-term we expect continuous monitoring, made possible with smart textiles, to make a major improvement to the way we approach the treatment of metabolic disorders and leisure."
