Development of wearable textile to monitor leg edema

睡眠呼吸暂停是一种慢性呼吸系统疾病，在睡眠过程中上呼吸道经常崩溃。10%的成年人会受到睡眠呼吸暂停的影响，随着人口老龄化、肥胖和久坐不动，睡眠呼吸暂停的发病率越来越高。睡眠呼吸暂停使中风、高血压和心脏病的风险增加三倍，加起来占加拿大所有直接医疗费用的67%。由于睡眠呼吸暂停的复杂性，很难为患者找到最佳的治疗方法，50%-80%的患者不遵守他们的治疗方案，这就放大了开发针对睡眠呼吸暂停的个性化和替代治疗的重要性。我们已经证明了一种加重睡眠呼吸暂停的新机制。久坐的生活方式会增加白天腿部的液体滞留。当躺下睡觉时，这种液体的一部分会流到脖子上，加剧睡眠呼吸暂停。我们已经证明，用压缩长袜或锻炼来防止腿部液体滞留可以改善睡眠呼吸暂停。目前，还没有技术可以持续监测腿部积液量来预测家庭睡眠呼吸暂停的风险。Myant是一家总部位于多伦多的公司，专注于为各种应用开发和制造可穿戴技术。他们已经开发出了将电子设备无缝嵌入纺织品的技术。凭借Myant在电子纺织品和可穿戴设备方面的技术专长和知识，以及我们在流体相关睡眠呼吸暂停方面的专业知识，我们将开发和验证能够持续监测腿部液体量的长袜。这款电子服装将配有用户友好的应用程序，形成个性化的医疗解决方案，使患者能够优化他们的治疗方案，防止腿部积液和相关的睡眠呼吸暂停。

Sleep apnea is a chronic respiratory disorder which involves frequent collapse of the upper airway during sleep.Sleep apnea affects 10% of adults, and it is becoming more prevalent as the population ages and becomes moreobese and sedentary. Sleep apnea increases the risk of stroke, hypertension, and heart disease by three fold,which together account for 67% of all direct Canadian healthcare costs. Due to the complex nature of sleepapnea, it is challenging to find the optimum treatment for patients and 50-80% of patients are not compliantwith their treatment, which amplifies the importance of developing personalized and alternative treatments forsleep apnea. We have demonstrated a novel mechanism that worsens sleep apnea. Sedentary lifestyle increasesfluid retention in the legs during the day. When lying down to sleep, part of this fluid moves to the neck andworsens sleep apnea. We have shown that preventing fluid retention in the legs with compression stockings orexercise improves sleep apnea. Currently, there is no technology to continuously monitor leg fluid volumes forpredicting sleep apnea risk at home over time.Myant is a Toronto based company which focuses on the development and manufacturing of wearabletechnologies for a wide variety of applications. They have developed technology to seamlessly embedelectronics into textiles. With Myant's technical expertise and knowledge in electronic textiles and wearabledevices, and our expertise in fluid-related sleep apnea, we will develop and validate a stocking capable ofcontinuously monitoring fluid volumes in the legs. This electronic garment will be accompanied by auser-friendly application to form a personalized health care solution that enables the patient to optimize theirtreatment and prevent leg fluid accumulation and associated sleep apnea.