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. 2017 May 6;17(5):1050.
doi: 10.3390/s17051050.

Wearable Contactless Respiration Sensor Based on Multi-Material Fibers Integrated into Textile

Philippe Guay  1 , Stepan Gorgutsa  2 , Sophie LaRochelle  3 , Younes Messaddeq  4
Affiliations

Wearable Contactless Respiration Sensor Based on Multi-Material Fibers Integrated into Textile

Philippe Guay et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

In this paper, we report on a novel sensor for the contactless monitoring of the respiration rate, made from multi-material fibers arranged in the form of spiral antenna (2.45 GHz central frequency). High flexibility of the used composite metal-glass-polymer fibers permits their integration into a cotton t-shirt without compromising comfort or restricting movement of the user. At the same time, change of the antenna geometry, due to the chest expansion and the displacement of the air volume in the lungs, is found to cause a significant shift of the antenna operational frequency, thus allowing respiration detection. In contrast with many current solutions, respiration is detected without attachment of the electrodes of any kind to the user's body, neither direct contact of the fiber with the skin is required. Respiration patterns for two male volunteers were recorded with the help of a sensor prototype integrated into standard cotton t-shirt in sitting, standing, and lying scenarios. The typical measured frequency shift for the deep and shallow breathing was found to be in the range 120-200 MHz and 10-15 MHz, respectively. The same spiral fiber antenna is also shown to be suitable for short-range wireless communication, thus allowing respiration data transmission, for example, via the Bluetooth protocol, to mobile handheld devices.

Keywords: multi-material fibers; textile RF (Radio Frequency) communications; textile biosensor; textile respiration sensor.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prototype of the spiral antenna integrated into a cotton shirt, in the inset—SEM images of the multi-material fiber structure.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Measured (solid) and simulated (dashed) return loss (S11) for the spiral antenna.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) E- and (b) H- radiation pattern planes of the multi-material fiber spiral antenna operating at 2.4 GHz frequency. Solid and dashed lines correspond to the results of experimental measurements and numerical simulations, respectively.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Schematic representation of the multi-material fibers spiral antenna integrated into a shirt; (b) the spiral antenna configuration change under the stretching load caused by the chest expansion during the breathing; and (c) a simplified human torso cross section showing the change of the air volume in the lungs.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Resonant frequency shift of the textile integrated spiral fiber antenna as a function of the induced stretch in off-body scenario.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Resonant frequency shift of the textile integrated spiral fiber antenna as a function of the induced stretch with and without the body phantom.
Figure 7
Figure 7
(a) Two-layer human body phantom setup to replicate chest movement during breathing; (b) the resonant frequency of the integrated multi-material fiber antenna depending on the distance, d, between the phantom layers.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Resonant frequency of the multi-material fiber antenna integrated into textile as a function of time during breathing pattern measurements of an adult male volunteer (standing).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Breathing patterns of an adult male volunteer in (a) sitting, (b) standing, and (c) lying scenarios. (d) The comparison of the breathing patterns (standing) for two male volunteers, the time scales are synchronized by the first deep breath for each volunteer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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