Lung-monitoring Wearable with Low-power Sensors Seamlessly Integrated in a Garment

Abstract

Respiratory diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or lower respiratory infections rank among the top causes of death worldwide. Traditional surveillance schemes with intermittent disease follow-ups by physicians are not efficient enough at preventing exacerbations. In the EU project WELMO, comfortable vests with seamlessly integrated low-power sensors were developed to continuously monitor the health status of the lungs through electrical bioimpedance and chest sound measurements. Their performance was successfully verified and validated in benchtop tests and pilot clinical studies.