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，在睡眠中上呼吸道频繁塌陷。10%的成年人患有睡眠呼吸暂停，随着人口老龄化、肥胖和久坐不动，睡眠呼吸暂停变得越来越普遍。睡眠呼吸暂停会使中风、高血压和心脏病的风险增加三倍，这些疾病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，为患者找到最佳治疗方法具有挑战性，50-80%的患者不依从治疗，这增强了开发个性化和替代治疗方法的重要性。我们已经证明了一种新的睡眠呼吸暂停机制。久坐不动的生活方式增加了白天腿部的液体潴留。当躺下睡觉时，部分液体会转移到颈部，导致睡眠呼吸暂停。我们已经证明，防止液体潴留在腿部与压缩袜orexercise改善睡眠呼吸暂停。目前，还没有一种技术可以持续监测腿部液体量，以预测随着时间的推移，在家里的睡眠呼吸暂停风险。Myant是一家总部位于多伦多的公司，专注于开发和制造各种应用的可穿戴技术。他们已经开发出将电子产品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，以及我们在液体相关睡眠呼吸暂停方面的专业知识，我们将开发和验证一种能够持续监测腿部液体体积的袜子。这种电子服装将伴随着友好的应用程序，形成一个个性化的医疗保健解决方案，使病人能够优化他们的治疗，防止腿部液体积累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.