Embedded sensor provides real time respiratory rate

The T-shirt - developed at Université Laval's Faculty of Science and Engineering and its Centre for Optics, Photonics, and Lasers – could lead to the manufacture of clothing that could be used to diagnose respiratory illnesses or monitor people suffering from asthma, sleep apnea, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The smart T-shirt works without any wires, electrodes, or sensors attached to the user's body, said Younes Messaddeq, the professor who led the team that developed the technology which is described in Sensors.

"The T shirt is really comfortable and doesn't inhibit the subject's natural movements,” said Prof Messaddeq. “Our tests show that the data captured by the shirt is reliable, whether the user is lying down, sitting, standing, or moving around."

According to the University, the key to the smart T-shirt is a spiral antenna sewn in at chest level that is made of a hollow optical fibre coated with a thin layer of silver on its inner surface. The fibre’s exterior surface is covered in a polymer that protects it against the environment.