Output details

Knitted Transducer Devices

This output is a patent for a wearable device to measure breathing patterns entitled ‘Knitted Transducer Devices’; EP1624800(B1), granted in the EU in 2008.

Breathing pattern measurements may be applied in the study of human performance in sports, and emergency services, as well as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and various other illnesses. Currently only clinic-based measurement technologies exist. This research offers the first garment-based technology for continuous monitoring by developing technology to measure the two dimensional deformation of a knitted structure. This is achieved by integrating a transduction zone with an electrically conductive yarn into a knitted structure so that deformation of the knitted structure results in a variation of an electrical property of the transduction zone. This can: (i) measure movement, (ii) be used for switching purposes, (iii) potentially measure temperature (in conjunction with additional technologies).

The research behind the IP was funded by SmartLife Technology Ltd. (SLT) and DTI (Dept of Trade and Industry). A seamless knitted vest was developed which allows monitoring of breathing patterns, adopted by SLT as a stand-alone product or in conjunction with the ECG monitoring. SLT won the "Technology Innovation Award" by Frost & Sullivan in 2010, for this product.

Initially the work was theory-based, developing mathematical models and their validation (as explained in the IP). Hurley subsequently implemented the mathematical models in the workshops, through hundreds of iterations, to seek out the optimum solution.

The IP is also protected in New Zealand on 14.08.2008 (NZ543379), Australia on 24.11.2009 (AU2004237945), PR China on 26.05.2010 (CN1882280), still pending in USA (US2009018428), Canada (CA2525525), Japan (JP2006-530525) and India (IN5344/DELNP/2005).