TY - JOUR
T1 - Piezoelectric Polymer and Piezocapacitive Nanoweb Based Sensors for Monitoring Vital Signals and Energy Expenditure in Smart Textiles
JO - Journal of Fiber Bioengineering and Informatics
VL - 4
SP - 369
EP - 381
PY - 2013
DA - 2013/06
SN - 6
DO - http://doi.org/10.3993/jfbi12201303
UR - https://global-sci.org/intro/article_detail/jfbi/4849.html
KW - Polyvinylidene Fluoride
KW - Polyurethane
KW - Electrospinning
KW - Nanofiber Webs
KW - Smart Textiles
AB - “Smart textiles”, also known as electronic or e-textiles contain embedded sensors capable of monitoring
vital signals such as ECG, EMG, respiratory behaviour and are usually fabricated using rigid
semiconductors. In this study, we developed a flexible Physiological Sensing Belt (PSB) by embedding
silicone rubber/carbon black/conductive carbon layer coated Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) film
between the elastic textile bands for monitoring respiration and the movement of thigh muscles. With
an average peak-to-peak interval of 3 sec, the respiration rate could be evaluated to be 20 min^{-1}. We
also developed a novel hybrid sensor using PVDF and Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) electrospun
nanofiber webs stacked on each other and capable of measuring both static and dynamic pressure
simultaneously within all frequency ranges. Based on the samples used, we were able to measure the
walking speed of the subject at 4, 336 steps/h and 0.693 m/step at the speed of 3 km/h and with 6, 656
steps/h and 0.751 m/step at the speed of 5 km/h. Overall, when compared to the existing commercially
available pressure sensors, the PVDF and TPU nanofiber web based hybrid sensor developed in our study
has advantages of high sensitivity, nanoscale thickness, lower hysteresis curve in pressure-capacitance,
and can be easily converged with any fabric or textiles.