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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