FLEXIBLE E-TEXTILE SENSORS FOR REAL-TIME HEALTH MONITORING AT MICROWAVE FREQUENCIES

This paper reports on testing of the performance of SmartLife® e-textile material. In particular, the response of the integrated conductive pathways at microwave frequencies in the region of 9 kHz to 6 GHz is investigated for both biomedical sensing and signal transmission purposes. The experimental results confirm the viability of exciting the e-textile material at ISM microwave frequencies at mW powers for the purposes of wearable non-invasive sensing. Custom made flexible microwave sensors suitable for integration into smart e-textile fabric were tested in their ability to perform real-time body parameters monitoring, in particular the level and composition of perspiration. Gradual change in both the resonant frequency peak and amplitude was recorded in the 2-3 GHz frequency range with increased volume of fluid (50-350 μl) when in contact with a 5×8 mm 2 sensor. A. Mason, S. Wylie, O. Korostynska, L. E. Cordova-Lopez and A. I. Al-Shamma’a, FLEXIBLE E-TEXTILE SENSORS FOR REAL-TIME HEALTH MONITORING AT MICROWAVE FREQUENCIES 32 This fabric with built-in textile sensors could serve as a platform for “high-tech designer outfits” for an advanced healthcare approach where real-time data on patient condition is transmitted wirelessly for immediate processing and corrective action if necessary. The novel sensor reported here was recently patented under milestone UK patent application number GB 2500000.

[1]  O. Korostynska,et al.  Glucose monitoring using electromagnetic waves and microsensor with interdigitated electrodes , 2009, 2009 IEEE Sensors Applications Symposium.

[2]  N. Taccini,et al.  Sensing Fabrics for Monitoring Physiological and Biomechanical Variables: E-textile solutions , 2006, 2006 3rd IEEE/EMBS International Summer School on Medical Devices and Biosensors.

[3]  A. Barthel,et al.  Continuous process monitoring for biogas plants using microwave sensors , 2010 .

[4]  Alessandro Tognetti,et al.  Assessment of Sensing Fire Fighters Uniforms for Physiological Parameter Measurement in Harsh Environment , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine.

[5]  Hongjie Leng,et al.  Design and fabrication of a MEMS/NANO-Skin system for human physiological response measurement , 2010 .

[6]  Jordán Pascual Espada.  Design service-oriented collaborative virtual objects within Internet of things , 2012, J. Ambient Intell. Smart Environ..

[7]  J. Boon,et al.  Acoustic-microwave water level sensor comparisons in an estuarine environment , 2008, OCEANS 2008.

[8]  Zulkifly Abbas,et al.  A rectangular patch antenna technique for the determination of moisture content in soil , 2010 .

[9]  Dominique Rebière,et al.  Microwave sensors: a new sensing principle. Application to humidity detection , 2000 .

[10]  D. Kidwell,et al.  Testing for drugs of abuse in saliva and sweat. , 1998, Journal of chromatography. B, Biomedical sciences and applications.

[11]  Vijay K. Varadan,et al.  Smart healthcare textile sensor system for unhindered-pervasive health monitoring , 2012, Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring.

[12]  James N. Lange,et al.  Microwave properties of drilling fluids , 1981 .

[13]  O. Korostynska,et al.  Thin- and thick-film real-time gamma radiation detectors , 2005, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[14]  R.R. Fletcher,et al.  Wearable Doppler radar with integrated antenna for patient vital sign monitoring , 2010, 2010 IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium (RWS).

[15]  Jan Vanfleteren,et al.  Integration of stretchable and washable electronic modules for smart textile applications , 2012 .

[16]  B. Kapilevich,et al.  Microwave sensor for accurate measurements of water solution concentrations , 2007, 2007 Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference.

[17]  A. Lymberis,et al.  Smart clothes and associated wearable devices for biomedical ambulatory monitoring , 2005, The 13th International Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems, 2005. Digest of Technical Papers. TRANSDUCERS '05..

[18]  A. Mason,et al.  Proof-of-concept microwave sensor on flexible substrate for real-time water composition analysis , 2012, 2012 Sixth International Conference on Sensing Technology (ICST).

[19]  Yang Lu,et al.  Smart Hospital based on Internet of Things , 2012, J. Networks.

[20]  V. Lumelsky,et al.  Sensitive skin , 2000, IEEE Sensors Journal.

[21]  Antonio F. Gómez-Skarmeta,et al.  An internet of things–based personal device for diabetes therapy management in ambient assisted living (AAL) , 2011, Personal and Ubiquitous Computing.

[22]  Wen-Tzeng Huang,et al.  Textiles digital sensors for detecting breathing frequency , 2008, 2008 5th International Summer School and Symposium on Medical Devices and Biosensors.

[23]  Jiming Chen,et al.  Smart community: an internet of things application , 2011, IEEE Communications Magazine.

[24]  Zhenan Bao,et al.  Fabrication of low-cost electronic biosensors , 2009 .

[25]  Beulah Jackson,et al.  A novel method for water impurity concentration using microstrip resonator sensor , 2010, Recent Advances in Space Technology Services and Climate Change 2010 (RSTS & CC-2010).

[26]  Khalil Arshak,et al.  Advanced materials and techniques for radiation dosimetry , 2013 .

[27]  Alex Mason,et al.  Hepa Filter Material Load Detection Using a Microwave Cavity Sensor , 2010 .

[28]  Alex Mason,et al.  Non-destructive evaluation of an activated carbon using microwaves to determine residual life , 2014 .