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The Radio Frequency Identification and Flexible Electronics (RFLEX) group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) is participating in ETEXHEALTH. The project is focused on finding solutions based on the application of electronic textile sensors (e-textile) to monitor biometric variables of the human body and the evolution of diseases in a minimally invasive way.
The main aim of the project is to develop electronic textile sensors that operate in low and high frequency regimes, with high sensitivity and efficiency, that can detect biomechanical variables and analyse body fluids.
At low frequency, resistive and capacitive textile sensors will be investigated. At high frequency, antennae will be studied as sensor elements, as well as radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology in ultra-high frequency (UHF) and industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) bands.
The main applications of these devices are focused on the detection and monitoring of body fluids (urine -nocturnal enuresis-, blood -glucose-, sweat -lactate-) and the detection of biomechanical variables, which can evaluate musculoskeletal and respiratory diseases.
The project covers stages from the development of the sensor to its practical demonstration, including the complete design, electromagnetic simulation, manufacture and characterisation process. In terms of manufacturing, three main textile technologies are considered: embroidery, inkjet printing and weaving, using materials such as cotton and polyester. The ETEXHEALTH project also analyses the impact of textile degradation mechanisms (abrasion and wear) on the behaviour of the sensors to ensure the practical functionality of the proposed structures in a final application.
Budget and funding
The project has a duration of three years (2022-2025) and a budget of 217,800 euros, with funding from the Spanish State Research Agency as part of the Knowledge Generation Programme of the State Plan of Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation (2017-2020).
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