PFI: BIC Wearable Smart Textiles Based on Programmable and Automated Knitting Technology for Biomedical and Sensor Actuation Applications

PFI：基于可编程和自动化针织技术的 BIC 可穿戴智能纺织品，适用于生物医学和传感器驱动应用

• 批准号: 1430212
• 负责人: Kapil Dandekar
• 金额: $ 79.96万
• 依托单位: Drexel University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-08-01 至 2018-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1430212&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PFI; BIC; Wearable; Smart; Textiles

Many medical conditions would benefit from continuous patient monitoring and treatment, although this is currently impractical due to the cumbersome nature of current medical equipment. Recent advancements in specialized materials and fabrication technologies offer exciting opportunities to create seamless garments as sensors and actuators for biomedical applications. Knitting fabrication, known as the intermeshing of yarns into loops (resulting in fabrics), is an ancient form of textile production widely used in the fashion industry. Knitting technology has gained a great deal of attention in the field of wearable electronics and could become a widespread method of construction for smart textiles in the future. In this PFI:BIC project from Drexel University, the aim is to replace current bulky medical monitoring devices with a line of lightweight smart garments. The fiber content of these garments will be similar to those commonly used in active wear such as wicking polyester to insure breathability and comfort, while the actuators and sensors, made of smart materials, will be strategically placed in the clothing to comprise only a small percentage of the material used. The project will leverage intellectual property pertaining to fabric-based connectors, microwave antennas, super capacitors, and robotics, to integrate smart fabric sensors and actuators into comfortable clothing, providing unobtrusive sensing and treatment options that are not currently possible. For textile communication, active and passive transceivers will be fabricated through knitting of different microwave structures. These knit microwave structures will also be used along with processing of passive RFID signals to create mechanical strain sensors. Mechanical actuation will be realized through knit robot technology making use of shape memory alloys. The knit antennas will be combined with knit supercapacitors to create wireless power systems for body area sensor networks. Focus groups with patients and healthcare practitioners will determine market needs. Prototype garments will be beta tested with sample target users. Industrial partners will provide raw materials, manufacturing advice, and commercialization expertise. Key is Shima Seiki knitting technology at Drexel University, which enables customization and innovation in the design and fabrication of wearable and machine washable smart (with integrated power and circuitry) textiles capable of wireless sensing and actuated treatment applications. Target applications that are the focus of this project will include a "bellyband" for uterine contraction monitoring during pregnancy, medical sensor patches, and knit robots for therapeutic massage. Drexel University has formed an interdisciplinary academic team including expertise from industrial and fashion design, materials and electrical engineering, nursing and medicine, as well as management and entrepreneurship. To complement this academic team, a three-tier industry partnership representing all levels of production and commercialization has been formed. The Material Suppliers tier includes EY Technologies (small business, Fall River, MA), custom-engineering groups providing creative solutions for the development of specialized yarns allowing for the creation of raw materials with unique functionality for novel biomedical smart textiles. The Fabrication tier includes Shima Seiki USA (large business, Monroe Township, NJ), a leader in 3D knitting simulation software and computerized knitting machines to manufacture biomedical smart textiles at both laboratory and production scale. Finally, in the Commercialization tier, NetScientific America (small business, Harrison, NY) augmented by the industrial advisory board of the Drexel Coulter Translational Research program will help determine commercial viability of various biomedical smart textile solutions and carry promising technologies to the market. Ben Franklin Technology Partners/Southeastern PA (non-profit, Philadelphia, PA) will serve as a broader context partner building upon experience in launching university/industry partnerships that accelerate scientific discoveries to commercialization and seeding regional initiatives that strengthen the regional entrepreneurial community.

许多医疗条件将受益于持续的患者监测和治疗，尽管由于目前医疗设备的笨重性质，这目前是不切实际的。专业材料和制造技术的最新进展为制造无缝服装提供了令人兴奋的机会，使其成为生物医学应用的传感器和执行器。针织是一种古老的纺织生产形式，广泛应用于时尚业。针织技术在可穿戴电子领域得到了极大的关注，并可能成为未来智能纺织品的一种广泛的构造方法。在这个来自德雷克塞尔大学的PFI：BIC项目中，目标是用一系列轻便的智能服装取代目前笨重的医疗监测设备。这些服装的纤维含量将类似于活动服装中常用的纤维含量，如吸汗聚酯，以确保透气性和舒适性，而由智能材料制成的致动器和传感器将战略性地放置在服装中，仅占所用材料的一小部分。该项目将利用与基于织物的连接器、微波天线、超级电容器和机器人相关的知识产权，将智能织物传感器和执行器集成到舒适的服装中，提供目前无法实现的低调传感和治疗选项。对于纺织通信，将通过编织不同的微波结构来制造有源和无源收发信机。这些编织的微波结构也将与无源RFID信号的处理一起使用，以制造机械应变传感器。机械驱动将通过利用形状记忆合金的编织机器人技术来实现。编织天线将与编织超级电容器相结合，为人体区域传感器网络创造无线电力系统。由患者和医疗从业者组成的焦点小组将决定市场需求。原型服装将与样本目标用户进行Beta测试。工业合作伙伴将提供原材料、制造建议和商业化专业知识。德雷克塞尔大学的Shima Seiki针织技术是关键，它使可穿戴和可机洗的智能(具有集成电源和电路)纺织品的设计和制造能够进行定制和创新，能够实现无线传感和致动治疗应用。作为该项目重点的目标应用将包括用于怀孕期间子宫收缩监测的“肚带”、医疗传感器贴片和用于治疗按摩的编织机器人。德雷克塞尔大学已经组建了一支跨学科的学术团队，其中包括工业和时尚设计、材料和电气工程、护理和医学以及管理和创业方面的专业知识。为了补充这一学术团队，已经形成了一个代表所有生产和商业化水平的三级行业伙伴关系。材料供应商包括安永科技(马萨诸塞州Fall River的小企业)、为开发特殊纱线提供创造性解决方案的定制工程集团，从而为新型生物医学智能纺织品创造具有独特功能的原材料。制造层包括新泽西州门罗镇的Shima Seiki USA(大型企业)，该公司是3D针织模拟软件和电脑编织机的领先者，可在实验室和生产规模上制造生物医学智能纺织品。最后，在商业化层面，NetScience America(纽约州哈里森小企业)将由德雷克塞尔·库尔特转化研究计划的行业顾问委员会扩大，这将有助于确定各种生物医学智能纺织品解决方案的商业可行性，并将有前景的技术推向市场。本·富兰克林技术伙伴/宾夕法尼亚州东南部(非营利组织，宾夕法尼亚州费城)将作为更广泛的背景合作伙伴，建立在启动大学/行业伙伴关系方面的经验，以加速科学发现的商业化，并为加强地区企业家社区的地区性倡议提供种子。

项目成果

Real-time detection of apnea via signal processing of time-series properties of RFID-based smart garments

• DOI: 10.1109/spmb.2016.7846871
• 发表时间: 2016-12
• 期刊: 2016 IEEE Signal Processing in Medicine and Biology Symposium (SPMB)
• 作者: W. Mongan;I. Rasheed;K. Ved;Ariana Levitt;E. Anday;K. Dandekar;G. Dion;T. Kurzweg;A. Fontecchio

An improved design of wearable strain sensor based on knitted RFID technology

基于针织RFID技术的可穿戴应变传感器改进设计

• DOI: 10.1109/cama.2016.7815769
• 发表时间: 2016
• 期刊: 2016 IEEE Conference on Antenna Measurements & Applications (CAMA
• 作者: Liu, Yuqiao;Levitt, Ariana;Kara, Christina;Sahin, Cem;Dion, Genevieve;Dandekar, Kapil R.
• 通讯作者: Dandekar, Kapil R.

Data fusion of single-tag rfid measurements for respiratory rate monitoring

• DOI: 10.1109/spmb.2017.8257028
• 发表时间: 2017-12
• 期刊: 2017 IEEE Signal Processing in Medicine and Biology Symposium (SPMB)
• 作者: W. Mongan;R. Ross;I. Rasheed;Y. Liu;K. Ved;E. Anday;K. Dandekar;G. Dion;T. Kurzweg;A. Fontecchio

On the Use of Knitted Antennas and Inductively Coupled RFID Tags for Wearable Applications

• DOI: 10.1109/tbcas.2016.2518871
• 发表时间: 2016-12-01
• 期刊: IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIOMEDICAL CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS
• 影响因子: 5.1
• 作者: Patron, Damiano;Mongan, William;Dandekar, Kapil R.
• 通讯作者: Dandekar, Kapil R.

A Multi-Disciplinary Framework for Continuous Biomedical Monitoring Using Low-Power Passive RFID-Based Wireless Wearable Sensors

使用基于低功耗无源 RFID 的无线可穿戴传感器进行连续生物医学监测的多学科框架

• DOI: 10.1109/smartcomp.2016.7501674
• 发表时间: 2016
• 期刊: 2016 IEEE International Conference on Smart Computing (SMARTCOMP
• 作者: Mongan, William;Anday, Endla;Dion, Genevieve;Fontecchio, Adam;Joyce, Kelly;Kurzweg, Timothy;Liu, Yuqiao;Montgomery, Owen;Rasheed, Ilhaan;Sahin, Cem
• 通讯作者: Sahin, Cem