Skinekt: Smart T-Shirt for ECG, Posture, and Breathing Monitoring
Skinekt is an intelligent, sensor-embedded T-shirt that integrates electronics directly into fabric to enable continuous, non-invasive health monitoring. Using advanced conductive materials and flexible textile interconnects, we embedded ECG electrodes, posture sensors, a power system, and a digital data bus into the garment, creating a fully functional health platform that looks and feels like ordinary clothing. Data is processed on-board and transmitted wirelessly via BLE to a smartphone app, with secure cloud upload for long-term trend analysis.
Category:
MedicalIndustry:
Medical Wearables / Smart TextilesYear:
2022The Challenge
Traditional health monitoring systems are bulky, wired, and uncomfortable for sustained daily use. Rigid electrodes cause skin irritation and inconsistent contact; multiple cables restrict mobility; and separate devices are required for ECG, posture, and respiration, forcing users to consciously manage their monitoring equipment. The result is low adoption, fragmented data, and a fundamental incompatibility with real-world continuous use outside clinical settings.
Our Solution
We designed Skinekt to embed the entire sensing pipeline, ECG, respiration, and posture, directly into the textile structure using conductive fibers and flexible interconnects. A compact low-power MCU handles on-device signal acquisition and processing, transmitting clean data over Bluetooth Low Energy 5.2 to a dedicated mobile application. The app then uploads to a secure cloud backend, enabling remote access, long-term health trend analysis, and clinician review, all without the user managing a single wire or device attachment.
Key Features
- Textile-Integrated Electronics: Conductive fibers and flexible interconnects embed ECG electrodes, posture sensors, power distribution, and a digital data bus directly into the fabric: achieving full electronic functionality with zero external cables or rigid attachments.
- Multi-Parameter Biometric Sensing: Simultaneous ECG acquisition (multi-lead, 250–500 Hz), breathing/respiration monitoring, and posture analysis via chest-mounted IMU: all from a single wearable garment.
- BLE 5.2 Wireless Transmission: On-device signal processing reduces raw data volume before low-latency BLE 5.2 transmission to the companion smartphone app, enabling real-time visualization and live health monitoring.
- Cloud-Connected Health Platform: Mobile app securely uploads session data to the cloud for long-term storage, trend analysis, and remote access: turning every wear session into a persistent health record.
- User-Centric Wearable Form Factor: Rechargeable lightweight battery module, washable-compatible construction, and a compact embedded unit designed for all-day comfort: sensors the user forgets they are wearing.
Technologies
- Conductive textiles
- STM32 MCU
- Nordic nRF (BLE 5.2)
- ECG AFE
- IMU (accelerometer/gyroscope)
- Embedded C
- BLE firmware
- Mobile app
- Cloud backend
Results
Skinekt demonstrates that smart textiles can achieve clinical-grade monitoring accuracy without compromising comfort or daily practicality. By unifying ECG, posture, and breathing monitoring in a single garment with wireless cloud connectivity, the project establishes a replicable blueprint for continuous health wearables, with direct applications in sports science, workplace ergonomics, rehabilitation, and wearable medical research.
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