E-Textiles in Therapeutic Applications
As you may know by now, e-textiles are a versatile and highly functional solution to many technical needs. In therapeutic applications, e-textiles are most used for heating and sensing capabilities. These functionalities can help with providing patients with a great level of care when it comes to comfort and safety. And these therapeutics can come in several forms; including heated wearables and sensory devices.
E-textiles can be used as a foundational technology for heating therapeutic devices. In these applications, an e-textile based thermal panel is added as a layer to a textile-based wearable or device. Some examples of devices that can utilize flexible heaters are heated vests, heating pads, and heated blankets. These devices can be extremely helpful to those with temperature regulation conditions, as well as those with neurological conditions like dementia.
Flexible Heaters
Here at Loomia, we developed a concept for a heated blanket a few years ago utilizing our e-textile prototyping parts.
The heaters provide comforting warmth to a dementia patient. We also added pressure matrixes to the design for patient monitoring. Which brings us to the second application for e-textiles; sensing. E-textiles can provide sensing capabilities to a wide variety of medical wearables and medical devices. For example, an e-textile system can be added to a pillow or cushion in a chair to help calm a patient. Sensors can also be added to devices to help keep patients safe (especially those with dementia).
A flexible textile heating system, like the Loomia Electronic Layer (LEL) is a cost-effective and easily programmable solution when compared to your typical flexible heater. For one, most flexible heaters on the market today are not bendable like the LEL. This is a necessity when talking about therapeutic wearables. If you are to bend these flexible heaters, they will crack; damaging the overall product. While your standard polyimide or silicone flexible heater is effective at reaching elevated temperatures, they pull a lot of current. The LEL pulls less current than several options on the market today and is easily programmable.
Sensors
Now, when it comes to sensor design, it is important to note that sensors can either be directly applied to a surface material or embedded within. Many sensing textiles involve a human-machine interaction and are usually used to help keep patients safe. One of our favorite applications of e-textile sensors is Sensor E-Textiles, a project led by Cathy Treadway in collaboration with several organizations. These garments combine both tactile items and embedded electronics to soothe, engage, and stimulate patients with late-stage dementia. Some of the garments feature sound and vibration to assist with non-verbal communication and physical movement.
When working with clients on wearable technology, we often design with the unique end user in mind. For example, the ADI Stitch Garment we developed with Analog Devices is programmed to sense motion and prevent continued stress injuries in patients who are prone to repeated incidents.
The shirt makes note of patterns and stores that data. This is great for workforce employees, athletes, or other hyper-mobile individuals. This is one of many reasons why e-textiles are so great for therapeutic wearables; because they are flexible and can move with the user.
Recently, we provided Festo with flexible sensors for the Bionic Mobile Assistant. While this robotic hand may not be a textbook example of a therapeutic device, it could certainly help in assisting those with medical conditions that limit their reach and overall mobility.
Image: Festo
Say you are elderly and cannot access high points in your home. Most individuals have the assistance of family members or a caregiver, but there may be times that caregiver is not around, and it might be less costly in the long run to have a device that can help you complete various challenging tasks. Therapeutic devices are not just about comfort, but improved quality of life.
Looking Beyond
The future of therapeutic devices and wearables depends on pinpointing a customer’s exact symptoms following a diagnosis and developing the technology around those symptoms to help in the healing process. And no other technology offers this level of customization better than e-textiles. Some devices may require a combination of both heating and sensing components, whereas others may only require one of those. We predict in the next 10 or so years, more physicians will be prescribing their patients' medical wearables for treatment. It is not to say these devices will cure all, but they will certainly improve overall quality of life—something most people with chronic illnesses and disabilities dream of. So, whether it is a wearable heated vest or a pressure sensing cushion, the potential for life-changing outcomes is strong.
Pique your interest? You might like to read these, as well:
Electronic Textiles: An Ingredient for Impactful Innovation
Loomia: What If? - The Breathe Shirt
Meet the Creative Tech: Elaine Khuu
E-Textiles for Health Monitoring