‘Smart shirts’, which are already used to measure lung and heart function in athletes, have recently been tested to determine their reliability in monitoring the lung function of healthy people performing everyday activities. The shirts were found to be reliable, giving researchers hope that they may be used in the future to remotely monitor the lung function of people with lung disease.
Smart shirts, called Hexoskin, use the stretching and contraction of the fabric to sense the volume of air inhaled or exhaled with each breath. They then send this data to an app, where it can be reviewed. The Hexoskin is comfortable and could be worn under clothing, providing an alternative to the bulky equipment traditionally used to measure breathing.
Though the technology is expensive and more work is needed, this study provides hope that the lung function of lung disease sufferers could be monitored remotely and simply by doctors. This would have the advantage that any deterioration of the condition could be recognised at an earlier stage and appropriate medical interventions could be initiated more rapidly. According to one researcher, ” Ultimately, we want to improve patients’ quality of life. If we can accurately monitor patients’ symptoms while they go about their normal activities, we might be able to spot problems and treat them sooner, and this in turn could mean less time in hospital.”
Source: ‘Smart shirt’ can accurately measure breathing and could be used to monitor lung disease