The monitoring of any human physiological parameters during rehabilitation exercises requires noninvasive sensors for the patient. This paper describes a wireless wearable T-shirt for posture monitoring during rehabilitation or reinforcement exercises. The subject posture is measured through a sensorized T-shirt using an inductive sensor sewn directly on the fabric. The wireless wearable T-shirt design specifications are the following: independence from the remote unit, easy to use, lightweight and comfort of wearing. This paper reports the conceptual framework, the fabricated device description, and the adopted experimental setup. The instrumented T-shirt’s output data are compared with the data obtained via an optical system, as a gold standard, that measures the marker positions over the patient’s back and chest. The trials performed on four subjects obtained on different days demonstrate that the wireless wearable sensor described in this paper is capable of producing reliable data compared with the data obtained with the optical system. The constitutive sensor simplicity that includes only a copper wire and a separable circuit board allows achieving the objectives of simplicity, ease of use, and noninvasiveness. The sensorized T-shirt, integrated with designed conditioning and transmission electronics for remote communication, could be used as a support tool for postural monitoring during rehabilitation exercises. © 1963-2012 IEEE.
Sardini, E., Serpelloni, M., Pasqui, V. Wireless wearable t-shirt for posture monitoring during rehabilitation exercises (2015) IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, 64 (2), art. no. 6879298, pp. 439-448. DOI:10.1109/TIM.2014.2343411
Wireless wearable t-shirt for posture monitoring during rehabilitation exercises
TONGUE PRESSURE SENSORS
The tongue is an important muscle and the contact with the hard palate during the articulation of a syllable or during swallowing is fundamental. Patients who have had cerebrovascular or other neurological disorders may have impaired speech and swallowing problems due to decreased ability to control the tongue. In this work, a device with the aim of providing a non-invasive aid for the rehabilitation is described. The proposed device has been designed with the purpose of measuring the tongue pressure on the palate directly in the oral cavity and transmitting the data wirelessly. The device is minimally invasive, because no cable is used to connect the pressure sensor placed in the oral cavity with the reading unit placed outside. A first prototype was developed and preliminary testing data for the analysis of the sensor behavior have been performed. A specific experimental setup has been designed and realized and a testing protocol has been defined and adopted. The obtained preliminary experimental results show a wide measurement range, up to 100 kPa. Application fields of this device are the treatment of people with swallowing or phonetic disorders. © 2014 IEEE.
