Development of Working Prototype of Wearable Health Monitoring System
The Flexible Health Monitoring System is one specific example of the alliance of a number of several researchers and experts in the textile, IT, material science, biomedical and electronic engineering among others. In this project, we are designing and developing a prototype of flexible ECG monitori
2025-06-28 16:26:42 - Adil Khan
Development of Working Prototype of Wearable Health Monitoring System
Project Area of Specialization Mechanical EngineeringProject SummaryThe Flexible Health Monitoring System is one specific example of the alliance of a number of several researchers and experts in the textile, IT, material science, biomedical and electronic engineering among others. In this project, we are designing and developing a prototype of flexible ECG monitoring system in the form of smart shirt based on purely textile based sensing platform with small SMD electronic controller circuit which would be intended to acquire and process the human’s ECG waveform, round the clock in all circumstances.
Based on literature review, for diagnosis and disease management, continuous ECG monitoring is usually practiced in hospital environment which requires technical expertise. Further patient has to stay in the hospital for a long period which leads to higher medical expenses and compromised quality of patient life. The previously made textile ECG electrodes consist of many problems in terms of wearer’s comfort, wireless data transmission delay, motion and baseline artifacts.
The project envisages the development of a flexible monitoring system in the form of Smart Shirt based on purely textile based sensing platform which would be intended to acquire the human body health parameters round the clock in all circumstances.
The objectives of the proposal project are outlined as:
- To embed a Flexible Sensing Platform comprised of textile based ECG into the smart shirt by the use of flatbed knitting machine.
- Development of ECG sensors of different shapes and sizes through embroidery and knitting and comparison of their results based on accuracy and comfort.
- Preparation of a Smart Shirt model design with precise positioning of the ECG sensors and its associated circuitry.
- To develop and integrate a miniaturized electronics circuitry, its wireless interface with Mobile/Laptop, and an application to visualize the health picture of the user.
To provide value added product to Medical Industry/Hospitals for clinical and non-clinical health monitoring.
Project Implementation MethodAt first, samples of ECG will be developed by changing their design and size through embroidery and knitting techniques in the SMART Lab of Textile Engineering Department, NED University. Then the samples will be tested on the computerized testing systems such as Contec 8000G ECG Workstation System for ECG Electrodes / sensors testing. And in final stage, the sensors with feasible results will be chosen for the integration of the textile based sensors into a shirt. For the development of textile based sensors, metal coated conductive yarn i.e. silver coated nylon will be used and for the non-sensing part of the shirt, polyester yarn will be preferred. To transmit electrical signals from human body to the controller, we will use TPU coated conductive yarns which mimics the work of buses/wires in the shirt. The whole shirt itself will be designed and developed on Computerized SHIEMA SEIKI SSR 112-SV7 flatbed knitting machine. In order to sense, amplify, filter and transmit a proper ECG waveform from the textile based ECG electrodes, we will develop a miniaturized programmable SMD controller circuit that should be capable to process the electrical signals from the body as input, transmit it to the end user without any delay.
Benefits of the ProjectThe shirt embedded with ECG sensing platform have numerous advantages. The foremost advantage is that a person can wear it in normal life, regardless of the textile based sensing patches; the appearance of the shirt will not be compromised.
The shirt is very helpful for the people who neglect their health problems checkups because they don’t have time to go to the hospital for monthly or yearly checkups. The shirt with ECG measurement capability keeps track of your health of the heart and is a promising replacement of costly and uncomfortable ECG machines, its solid state electrodes and long bulky wires that are used for the monitoring of physiological profiles of the heart in home and medical facilities. Along with ECG. The project can be used for long term monitoring of patients and the daily activities of individual can also be observed such as health status of heart during gymnasium, sports, jogging, as well as human different positions like standing, sitting and laying. By observing daily activities, a protective lifestyle can be achieved which allow the user to take extra care of their health due to which care expense will be reduced as the user would be getting forecasting of their health issues.
Technical Details of Final DeliverableThe wearbale health monitoring system in the form of flxible, comfirtable, easy to wear and software application connected will be capable to measure ECG signals from human body with amplification, filtering, data processing and wireless transmission capabilities of the small SMD controller deployed into the shirt.
The textile based conducting ECG electrodes will be close proximity to human body skin that can sense and neglect the motion artifacts of the human body locomotion.
The health moniting system will be developed and finalized based on the 12-Lead ECG results acquired from Ag/Acl electrodes used in medical facilities/clinics. However, we will used 8000G ECG workstation system to test our textile based electrodes meeting the hospital based data results.
The Smart Shirt will be worn by Military personnel, Sports men/women, Isolation Systems, Hospital/centric care and for normal daily life to keep tracking health conditions of the heart. In that way we can bring flxible wearable monitoring system to decrease hospital burdon, incrase nation's economy, helps growing R&D academia, medical and textile industries.
| Item Name | Type | No. of Units | Per Unit Cost (in Rs) | Total (in Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total in (Rs) | 74600 | |||
| AD8232 ECG Module | Equipment | 1 | 2000 | 2000 |
| Ag/AgCl ECG 12-lead wires | Equipment | 1 | 5000 | 5000 |
| Ag-AgCl ECG Electrodes | Equipment | 20 | 20 | 400 |
| AVR Microcontroller | Equipment | 1 | 2350 | 2350 |
| Banana Connectors | Equipment | 5 | 20 | 100 |
| Blue and Balck pen Packet | Miscellaneous | 1 | 300 | 300 |
| Bluetooth Modules Tx/Rx | Equipment | 5 | 700 | 3500 |
| Clip File Covers | Miscellaneous | 4 | 250 | 1000 |
| Connectivity Probes | Equipment | 5 | 300 | 1500 |
| Crocodile Clips | Equipment | 5 | 20 | 100 |
| DC Variable Power Supply | Equipment | 1 | 7000 | 7000 |
| ECG Simulator for Referencing and Calibrating ECG Signals | Equipment | 1 | 20000 | 20000 |
| Female-Female Wires | Equipment | 10 | 200 | 2000 |
| Lycra Yarn Roll | Equipment | 10 | 200 | 2000 |
| Male-Male Wires | Equipment | 10 | 200 | 2000 |
| Metalic Titch Button packet | Miscellaneous | 3 | 100 | 300 |
| Pencil Packet | Miscellaneous | 1 | 300 | 300 |
| Plas | Equipment | 1 | 500 | 500 |
| Project Board | Equipment | 3 | 300 | 900 |
| Electronic Component Box | Miscellaneous | 1 | 1000 | 1000 |
| Resistor packet | Equipment | 5 | 200 | 1000 |
| Sewing Needles (various sizes) packet | Miscellaneous | 3 | 100 | 300 |
| Silver coated Nylon Yarn Roll | Equipment | 5 | 1550 | 7750 |
| Soldering Iron | Equipment | 1 | 3000 | 3000 |
| Soldering Stand | Equipment | 1 | 1000 | 1000 |
| Soldering Sucker | Equipment | 1 | 500 | 500 |
| Soldering Wire Roll | Equipment | 5 | 500 | 2500 |
| Transistors Packet | Equipment | 5 | 200 | 1000 |
| Unit-T Digital Multimeter | Equipment | 2 | 1500 | 3000 |
| Varo Board (large) | Miscellaneous | 5 | 300 | 1500 |
| Wire cutter | Equipment | 1 | 300 | 300 |
| Wire Stripper | Equipment | 1 | 500 | 500 |