|
Washington: Ladies, imagine sporting a bra which can
tell your doctor if you’re having a heart attack — and
where to send the ambulance. Well, it’s now a reality,
all thanks to an Indian-origin researcher-led team in
the US.
Vijay Varadan and colleagues at University of
Arkansas have designed such an “e-bra” which is meant
for sick women and atheletes. The bra has integrated
sensors that measures vital health signals and uploads
the information to a wireless network such as Bluetooth
or Wi-Fi, which the patient and their doctor can then
access, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.
Varadan said: “Our e-bra enables continuous, real-
time monitoring to identify any pathophysiological
changes. It is a platform on which various sensors for
cardiac-health monitoring are integrated into the
fabric. The garment collects and transmits vital health
signals to any desired location in the world.”
The system monitors blood pressure, body
temperature, respiratory rate, oxygen consumption and
some neural activity. It takes the same readings as
conventional electrocardiograph (ECG), and so can even
tell if a patient is having a heart attack, the
researchers say. The system doesn’t require a cuff or
any extra accessories to measure blood pressure and
could therefore replace conventional blood-pressure
monitors. The sensors are smaller than a dime and are
made of arrays of gold nano-electrodes fabricated on to
a flexible base, they are woven in to the bra material,
according to the researchers.
They communicate with system software via a wireless
module that snaps on to the bra. This collects and
compresses the information before sending it over a
network to a secure database. The data can be viewed on
separate windows for each measurement. It includes GPS
that can track the patient anywhere in the world. |
