How smart clothing could prove useful in healthcare

Researchers have developed a fiber capable of analysing the wearer’s sweat to monitor vital physiological signals related to their mental and physical health. — AFP Relaxnews

What if your T-shirt was one day able to warn you of a possible heart problem? That’s an idea that could soon become reality, as researchers around the world are working to develop smart fibers that can be woven into clothing to alert users to potential health problems.

Smart clothing is defined by the use of a fiber capable of capturing, recording, reacting to or even interacting with a signal via sensors, microelectronic components or electrodes. If some applications can currently be seen as little more than gimmicks, this clothing of the future could actually be useful in the healthcare field.