Clevertex - Grado Zero Espace Srl
Clevertex - Grado Zero Espace Srl
Clevertex - Grado Zero Espace Srl
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esearch objectives and five cross-cutting activities responding to common themes across all research<br />
areas like international cooperation, SME-specific actions or research for policy support. A further<br />
programme part is dedicated to Structuring of the European Research Area (ERA), a policy concept<br />
aiming to overcome research fragmentation in Europe, comparable to the concept of the European<br />
Single Market [209].<br />
Regarding EC co-financed projects in the field of textiles and clothing, it can be pointed out that they<br />
contribute to the improvement of health monitoring based on textiles and garments according to a<br />
predefined scheme: it starts with "physiological parameter-oriented projects" (e.g. WEALTHY,<br />
MyHeart, MERMOTH and OFSETH) relying on textile-embedded sensors, it adds biosensing (e.g.<br />
BIOTEX), and extends in the combination of the sensed signals (e.g. PROETEX) and beyond [210].<br />
2.9.1 European projects within FP5<br />
2.9.1.1 WEALTHY<br />
WEALTHY is an IST project for 2½ years started on 1st of September, 2002. In the scope of the<br />
project smart materials in fibre and yarn form endowed with a wide range of electro physical properties<br />
(conducting, piezoresistive, etc.) are being integrated and used as basic elements to implement<br />
wearable system for collecting physiological data [211].<br />
The system WEALTHY is a comfortable health monitoring system which is based on a wearable<br />
interface with integrated fabric sensors, advanced signal processing techniques and modern<br />
telecommunication systems. The system was developed by a consortium of the University of Pisa,<br />
Smartex srl, Centre Suisse d’ Electronique et de Microtechnique, Atkosoft S.A., Institut National des<br />
Sciences Appliquees de Lyon, Istituto Scientifico H San Raffaele, Centre de recherces du service de<br />
Sante des Armees, Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH and Centre National de la recherché<br />
Scientifique. The system comprises wearable and wireless instruments garments with integrated strain<br />
sensors based on piëzoresisitive material as well as fabric electrodes made of metal based fibres. The<br />
piëzoresisitive material consist of Lycra ® fabric coated with carbon loaded rubber and a woven<br />
commercial electroconductive yarn. The metal based fibres for the fabric electrodes comprises of two<br />
stainless steel fibres twisted around a viscose textile yarn. Also, connections have been made out of<br />
textiles, using the circular knitting technique.<br />
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