Garment system with electronic components and associated methods
The disclosure provides a wireless biometric monitoring system that may be capable of acquiring, compiling, analyzing, and transmitting biometric data in near real time/real time. The system may utilize either the most up-to-date Bluetooth protocol (currently Bluetooth Smart) or a similar wireless protocol. The system may further integrate through this wireless protocol with peripheral devices to expand the measurement capacity of the system. In embodiments, the system may be capable of monitoring multiple biometric responses including, but not limited to: skin temperature, core temperature, respirations, heart rate, predicted tidal volume, chest wall movement, abdominal movement in conjunction with inspiration, abdominal movement in conjunction with expiration, HRR (heart rate reserve), HRV (heart rate variability), body position relevant to perpendicular, shoulder position relevant to hip position, general body posture, up time, down time, and malfunctions.
1. A system for providing biometric data, comprising:
a fabric configured to be worn on a body, wherein the fabric comprises one or more layers, at least one layer of fabric comprising a conductive elastic material;
a plurality of monitoring sites distributed in the fabric, wherein the plurality of monitoring sites comprise a first monitoring site coupled by a first portion of the conductive elastic material to a second monitoring site and a third monitoring site coupled by a second portion of the conductive elastic material to the first monitoring site, wherein the first monitoring site is positioned at a location where the first portion of the conductive elastic material and the second portion of the conductive elastic material overlap, thereby facilitating creation of a mesh pattern on the fabric, and wherein the first monitoring site positioned at the location is configured to generate data at the first monitoring site, wherein the first monitoring site includes a first conductive elastomer strand oriented substantially in a vertical direction and a second conductive elastomer strand oriented substantially in a horizontal direction, and wherein a strain detection unit generates a portion of the data based on a change associated with the first conductive elastomer strand, the second conductive elastomer strand, or a combination thereof; and
a processor, the processor being capable of receiving the data from the monitoring sites, wherein the processor is configured to assess changes in a first resistance of the first portion of the conductive elastic material and assess changes in a second resistance of the second portion of the conductive elastic material.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is integrated in the fabric.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor comprises a transmitter.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to wirelessly transmit data.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to assess changes in the first resistance independently of changes in the second resistance.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is coupled to the monitoring sites with one or more wires distributed through the fabric.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is wirelessly coupled to the monitoring sites.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the fabric comprises at least one form-fitting layer configured to be worn on the body.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the layer of the fabric comprising the conductive elastic material is configured to be in contact with a skin of the body.
10. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a heart rate monitor integrated in the fabric and coupled to the processor.
11. The system of claim 1 , further comprising one or more accelerometers integrated in the fabric and coupled to the processor.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to assess at least some motion of the body wearing the fabric in a first direction using the assessed changes in the first resistance.
13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to assess at least some motion of the body wearing the fabric in a second direction using the assessed changes in the second resistance.
14. A method for providing biometric data, comprising: assessing motion of a wearer of a fabric during respiration and movement of the wearer using a plurality of monitoring sites distributed in the fabric comprising a conductive elastic material, wherein the plurality of monitoring sites comprise a first monitoring site coupled by a first portion of the conductive elastic material to a second monitoring site and a third monitoring site coupled by a second portion of the conductive elastic material to the first monitoring site, wherein the first monitoring site is positioned at a location where the first portion of the conductive elastic material and the second portion of the conductive elastic material overlap, thereby facilitating creation of a mesh pattern on the fabric, and wherein the first monitoring site positioned at the location is configured to generate data at the first monitoring site, wherein the data includes a time at which the data is measured, wherein the first monitoring site includes a first conductive elastomer strand oriented substantially in a vertical direction and a second conductive elastomer strand oriented substantially in a horizontal direction, and wherein a strain detection unit generates a portion of the data based on a change associated with the first conductive elastomer strand, the second conductive elastomer strand, or a combination thereof, assessing changes in a first resistance of the first portion of the conductive elastic material; assessing changes in a second resistance of the second portion of the conductive elastic material, changes in the second resistance being assessed independently of changes in the first resistance; and assessing, using a processor integrated in the fabric, at least some motion of the wearer of the fabric using the assessed changes in the first resistance, the assessed changes in the second resistance, and the portion of the data.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein assessing, using the processor integrated in the fabric, at least some motion of the wearer comprises assessing movement of the abdomen, spine, and thorax during respiration of the wearer.
16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising assessing at least some movement of the wearer using one or more accelerometers integrated in the fabric.
17. The method of claim 14 , further comprising assessing at least some movement of the body of the wearer using one or more accelerometers integrated in the fabric and a GPS monitor integrated in the fabric, the method further comprising:
assessing multi-planar motion of the wearer of the fabric using a combination of the data from the monitoring sites, the GPS monitor, and at least one of the accelerometers.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the multi-planar motion of the wearer comprises a combination of transverse, sagittal, and frontal motion of the wearer.
19. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first portion of the conductive elastic material contacts the second portion of the conductive elastic material at the first monitoring site.
20. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first portion of the conductive elastic material contacts the second portion of the conductive elastic material at the first monitoring site.