GARMENT INFRASTRUCTURE FOR PHYSIOLOGICAL MONITORING
A garment provides infrastructure for using one or more physiological monitoring devices. This may include connecting infrastructure such as physical restrains to securely retain monitoring devices during use, supporting infrastructure such as an intra-garment communications bus, external communications infrastructure, power sources, and the like, as well as augmentation infrastructure to augment monitors with, e.g., processing power, geolocation services, user interfaces, additional sensors, and so forth.
1 . A system comprising:
a module including one or more sensors for physiological monitoring;
a garment having a pocket shaped and sized to removably and replaceably receive the module, the pocket positioned to retain the module at a location on a wearer of the garment and the pocket configured to retain the module with a predetermined contact force against a skin of the wearer; and
an infrastructure component coupled to the garment for using the module in a physiological monitoring system.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the module includes a fixture for attaching to an adjustable wrist strap configured to secure the module as a wrist-worn physiological monitor.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the module detects the location and adapts a data acquisition algorithm applied to data from the one or more sensors based on the location.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the pocket includes a window facilitating direct physical contact between a sensing region of the module and the wearer.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the pocket is positioned within an elastic band of the garment.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the pocket is positioned over an artery of the wearer suitable for acquiring photoplethysmography data.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the garment includes a plurality of pockets for retaining a plurality of modules.
8 . The system of claim 7 , further comprising two or more modules in the plurality of pockets, each of the two or more modules configured to monitor a different physiological parameter.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors include at least one of an optical sensor, a light emitting diode, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a conductivity sensor, a capacitive sensor, a skin temperature sensor, and an environmental sensor.
10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the infrastructure component includes a location identifier for the pocket.
11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the infrastructure component includes a power supply for the module.
12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the infrastructure component includes a communication system.
13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the infrastructure component includes a wired intra-garment network.
14 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the infrastructure component includes a processor.
15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the infrastructure component includes a Global Positioning System.
16 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the infrastructure component includes a timing device for synchronizing signals from two or more modules.
17 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the infrastructure component includes a beacon for synchronizing signals among two or more modular sensing devices.
18 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the physiological monitoring system monitors one or more of a heart rate, a body temperature, a muscle activity, and a respiration rate.
19 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a remote processing resource coupled in a communicating relationship with the module in the garment.
20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the remote processing resource is configured to receive data from the module including the location of the module and physiological data from the one or more sensors, the remote processing resource further configured to adapt processing of the physiological data based on the location.
21 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of garments each providing data from at least one garment-coupled module.
22 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a processor coupled in a communicating relationship with the module and configured to detect the location of the module and adapt processing of data from the one or more sensors according to the location.
23 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a processor coupled in a communicating relationship with the module and configured to detect the location of the module and select a motion-based activity recognition model based on the location.
24 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a processor coupled in a communicating relationship with the module and configured to perform a differential analysis based on signals from two or more modules.
25 . A smart garment system, the system comprising:
a garment structurally configured for wearing by a user, the garment including one or more designated areas for sensing a physiological parameter of the user;
a plurality of modules sized and shaped for placement at the one or more designated areas of the garment, each of the plurality of modules including one or more physiological sensors and a communications interface configured to transmit data from the one or more physiological sensors; and
a controller configured to determine a location of a first module of the plurality of modules proximal to one of the designated areas of the garment, and based on the location, control operation of the first module.