Smart and functional textiles

Smart and Functional Textiles is an application-oriented book covering a wide range of areas from multifunctional nanofinished textiles, coated and laminated textiles, wearable e-textiles, textile-based sensors and actuators, thermoregulating textiles, to smart medical textiles and stimuli-responsive textiles. It also includes chapters on 3D printed smart textiles, automotive smart textiles, smart textiles in military and defense, as well as functional textiles used in care and diagnosis of Covid-19. • Overview of smart textiles and their multidirectional applications • Materials, processes, advanced techniques, design and performance of smart fabrics • Fundamentals, advancements, current challenges and future perspectives of smart textiles. © 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.

Advances in medical textiles

Medical textile is one of the technical textiles sectors, growing faster due to developments in polymer science and technology and innovation in forming new textile structures. In this review, current market trends for the growth of medical textiles for both pre and post covid pandemic periods were discussed. Focus is given to the classification of medical textiles and devices, specific requirements of fibers and widely used types of fibers, and advanced developments in this field, including nanofibers, bicomponent fibers, superabsorbent polymers, and conductive materials used in a wide range of advanced medical devices. Various fabric structures (woven/knitted/nonwoven/braided) have been in use in biomedical devices;however, recent 3D shaped structures such as spacer fabrics, and 3D-printed materials have profoundly marked their significance with its ability to adapt to specific needs of the medical community. Smart wearable sensor technologies for monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment are discussed and critically reviewed, enabling the readers to understand the complexity of the nature of interdisciplinary approaches required for developing such complex structures and systems. Antimicrobial agents (synthetic and natural/organic) used in the development of medical textiles mainly wound dressings, advances in antiadhesive textile coatings, and antimicrobial assessments of medical fabrics are critically reviewed. Finally, a case study on 3D printing of complex structures is presented to update modern developments using fine detail resolution (FDR), a selective laser sintering that uses carbon dioxide laser to produce delicate and complex 3D structures suitable for medical applications. It is anticipated that readers will benefit from this critical overview of trends in this sector and the multidisciplinary approaches needed to meet the demands of the ever-growing consumer base. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced and Smart Textiles during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic: Issues, Challenges, and Innovations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hugely affected the textile and apparel industry. Besides the negative impact due to supply chain disruptions, drop in demand, liquidity problems, and overstocking, this pandemic was found to be a window of opportunity since it accelerated the ongoing digitalization trends and the use of functional materials in the textile industry. This review paper covers the development of smart and advanced textiles that emerged as a response to the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2. We extensively cover the advancements in developing smart textiles that enable monitoring and sensing through electrospun nanofibers and nanogenerators. Additionally, we focus on improving medical textiles mainly through enhanced antiviral capabilities, which play a crucial role in pandemic prevention, protection, and control. We summarize the challenges that arise from personal protective equipment (PPE) disposal and finally give an overview of new smart textile-based products that emerged in the markets related to the control and spread reduction of SARS-CoV-2.

Designing a Soft-Actuated Smart Garment for Postural Control and Fall Prevention in Elderly Women

A fall in third age triggers a domino effect of consequences that are recognized by specialists as leading causes of further falls. After the first event, the post-fall syndrome onsets: a pathological fear of falling that affects quality of life. It leads to loss of self-efficacy, sedentarism, musculoskeletal weakening, reduced mobility, postural insufficiency, gait disorders, isolation and depression—all acknowledged as fall risk factors. Specialists agreed that the most effective approach to prevent new episodes is to restore confident postures and good alignments. This paper presents the first design stages of a soft-actuated re-educational garment for remote post-fall rehabilitation in female users. The objective is to i) restore postural control by providing a gentle pressure stimulus, suggesting corrections when poor body alignments are detected;ii) restore the perceived self-efficacy;iii) promote physical activity by motion monitoring and providing daily reports through a patient-therapist smartphone app. To date, we have tested a soft body-postures detection system by cross-checking data from a network of e-textile stretch sensors, along with a pneumatic actuator system around the user's torso providing a targeted pressure stimulus to correct bad habits. Tests have been run on a limited number of users due to the Covid-19 emergency. Data are not yet statistically conclusive but suggest the way to a new dimensional approach, both for rehabilitation and prevention. © 2023, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.

An IoT-enabled Electronic Textile-based Flexible Body Sensor Network for Real-time Health Monitoring in Assisted Living during Pandemic

This paper presents a cost-effective and flexible electronic textile sensor with high sensitivity and fast response and demonstrates its versatile applications, including real-time measurements of finger kinematics, phonation, cough patterns, as well as subtle muscle movements (i.e., eye reflex). The sensor can discriminate between speech and cough patterns, thereby expanding its applications to COVID-19 detection, speech rehabilitation training, and human/machine interactions. A combination of different sensor data is essential to acquire clinically significant information. Therefore, a sensor array is interfaced with the LoRa communication protocol to establish an Internet of Things (IoT)-based electronic textile framework. The IoT integration allows remote monitoring of body kinematics and physiological parameters. Therefore, the proposed IoT-based framework holds the potential to provide real-time and continuous health monitoring to allow immediate intervention during this pandemic. © 2022 IEEE.

PORTABLE DEVICES IN THE FIGHT OF SARSCOV2

Finding various solutions to solve the pandemic challenges made me approach this topic. Why are we interested in smart textiles or those with electronic involvement in the fight against viruses? We can even use textiles to monitor an individual's health. In a pandemic case, the interaction with a patient must be as small as possible. That's why I thought of creating a system for remotely capturing essential biological information, such as body temperature. Such a device must contain sensors, a storage system and information transmission. The paper aims to present an attempt by the author to design a smart textile by introducing various electronic devices in the child's usual clothes, which allow remote temperature monitoring. Even if the tests were performed on a child, the idea can be extrapolated to adults, especially in a pandemic context. Existing devices on the market were used in combination with textiles in the child's wardrobe to study the effectiveness of temperature monitoring, using devices integrated in textiles. It is an attempt to find the cheapest possible solutions for monitoring the health condition remotely. It is far from being a perfect solution, but I do not want to stop here, but I will look for finding the most viable solution.