Wearable textronic system for protecting elderly people

Abstract

A growing number of elderly people in Poland and Europe forces to look for new solutions for the continuous monitoring of people health state. This approach allows elderly for an action in case of dangerous situations for older patients' life (state before heart attack or stroke, etc.). The system for continuously monitoring the health state also allows a quick action of first contact doctors in the case of emergency situations. That described system also allows relatives of elderly people in their homes to remotely monitor them. The monitoring system is portable, comfortable to use and allows non-invasive measurement methods. This kind of clothing is fully user-friendly product. The textronics system is a new product for monitoring selected human physiological parameters such as: pulse, frequency of breathing, underclothing temperature, positioning inside and outside the house. Textile sensory elements and signal lines are implemented in the structure of the clothing and that solution is a main innovation of this kind of systems. System of a textile sensor is a part of a garment and it is fully portable, easy for using and does not require specialized medical services. Furthermore, measurement of physiological parameters is non-invasive which means that does not interfere directly in the human body. The system is completely safe because it is supplied by a miniature battery such as used in mobile phones. The combination of textile clothing interface with specialized software for data acquisition and generation of alarm signals provides a continuous overview of the health status of the monitored person.