Health Monitoring Smart Suit

About

Progress in portable technology from the last decade (such as laptops and smartphones), has given rise to the concept of wearable technologies. This is a rapidly developing new market where technology begins to blend seamlessly into our everyday wearable accessories (e.g. watches and glasses), and ultimately into the very clothing we wear.  Leading experts agree that wearable technology is the future: Just as mobile and smart phones evolved from desktop computing to become ubiquitous, in the next decade embedded wearable electronics will also evolve and become the norm (J. Wagstaff, 2015: Reuters/BBC). Currently, the Sports and Fitness sectors has seen the largest integration of wearable technology, however according to the latest IDtechEx report on E-textiles 2016-2026, large scale integration of wearable technologies will also come from the Healthcare and Wellness sectors. KYMIRA is serving the needs of these two distinct markets with by developing a wearable solution that will readily serve both industries. By actively monitoring biometric signals from the wearer, the solution will be able to record, transmit and react to changes in the wearer’s health status. This has a particular benefit in the Telecare market, as it would allow users with chronic diseases, illnesses, injuries or other health risks to be able to be supported from a distance and be able to live independently at home. The aim is for the KYMIRA telecare wearable solution to be unobtrusive and not disrupt the user’s daily routine as it will become embedded into the user’s clothing or smart garments and be powered by the user’s own wasted energy. Users will be able to: - Have biomedical data such as heart rate monitored continuously and available for review by the user and any authorised individuals (family, GP, carers). - Should irregular readings be detected, alerts will automatically be sent to authorised individuals. - Should a medical emergency such as a heart attack occur, the KYMIRA smart garment will contact the emergency services autonomously with a location and initial diagnosis. The biggest barrier to broader adoption of this as well as other wearable solutions is power demand. Though there is scientific focus on developing better batteries (smaller & more flexible with higher energy densities), the field of human energy harvesting applied to wearables is still relatively unexplored. Currently, KYMIRA is developing its own human energy solution with the aim of being able to power any monitoring devices we wish to implement solely through the wasted energy of the wearer. We already perform this passively with our own KYnergy® Infrared emitting sportswear, launched in 2013. This technology absorbs wasted heat energy from the user, converts it into Far-Infrared and transmits it back into the body having a host of clinically proven benefits such as increased muscular performance and increased cellular recovery. Now, we are taking this concept a step further by actively harvesting different forms of wasted energy from users and the surrounding environment to power the future electronic systems that underpin wearable technologies.