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Bio-sensing textiles - Wearable Chemical Biosensors for Health Monitoring

Shirley Coyle 1 , Yanzhe Wu 1,2 , King-Tong Lau 1 , Sarah Brady1 , Gordon Wallace 1,2 , Dermot Diamond1
1
Adaptive Sensors Group, School of Chemical Sciences, National Centre for Sensor Research,
Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland
2
Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) and
ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES), University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia)

ABSTRACT applications including cardiovascular disease [2, 3] and


In recent years much progress has been made in the ambulatory monitoring of the elderly [4]. Such
integration of physical transducers into clothing e.g. applications typically monitor physiological signals such
breathing rate, heart rate and temperature [1]. The as breathing rate, heart rate, ECG and temperature. These
integration of chemical sensing into textiles adds a new are all physical sensors, i.e. they convert physical
dimension to the field of smart clothing. Wearable properties into electrical signals. Chemical sensing has
chemical sensors may be used to provide valuable not yet been implemented in these applications although it
information about the wearer’s health, monitoring the has the potential of offering much information about the
wearer during their daily routine within their natural wearer’s health. Chemical biosensors have numerous
environment. In addition to physiological measurements applications in clinical analysis and may offer
chemical sensors may also be used to monitor the complimentary information to the physical sensors.
wearer’s surrounding environment, identifying safety
concerns and detecting threats. Whether the clothes are A major issue in monitoring biological samples
looking into the wearer’s personal health status or looking in vivo is sensor placement and sample delivery. As a
out into the surroundings, chemical sensing calls for a wearable device a non-invasive sensing device is
novel approach to sensor and textile integration. In essential. Urine, saliva, sweat, tears and breath are
contrast to physical sensors, chemical sensors and possible samples that may be acquired non-invasively [5].
biosensors depend on selective reactions happening at an Sweat is the most accessible specimen within a garment,
active surface which must be directly exposed to a and there are many developments within the textile
sample. Therefore issues of fluid handling, calibration industry to accommodate the movement of sweat through
and safety must be considered. This paper discusses the fabrics for sports performance clothing. This work is part
constraints in integrating chemical sensors into a textile of the EU-funded BIOTEX project which aims to develop
substrate. Methods of fluid control using inherently real textile sensors embedded in a garment allowing direct
conducting polymers (ICPs) are discussed and a pH collection and analysis of sweat. The paper discusses the
textile sensor is presented. This sensor uses colorimetric development of a textile pH fabric sensor for measuring
techniques using LEDs controlled by a wireless platform. sweat pH, and discusses how conducting polymers may
Some of the potential applications of wearable chemical be used for control fluid handling for sample delivery and
sensors are discussed. calibration.

KEY WORDS 2. Textiles and Chemical Sensors


Wearable sensors, patient monitoring, biosensors,
pervasive healthcare Integration of chemical sensors into textiles is
not a straightforward task. Consider the known problems
1. Introduction of wearable physical sensors which are subject to
physiological, environmental noise and motion artefacts.
Wearable sensors provide personalised Chemical sensors are subject to similar problems but there
healthcare through monitoring the wearer in their natural are additional constraints due to the nature of the sensing
environment, providing a far more realistic outlook than mechanisms. Chemical sensors respond to a particular
in a clinical setting. An important benefit is that the analyte in a selective way through a chemical reaction. In
wearer becomes more aware of their personal health order for this to happen, changes in the sensor surface or
status which has a huge impact for preventative bulk characteristics must occur to give rise to the signal.
healthcare. Wearable sensors for healthcare have been Therefore the device surface must change and the analyte
implemented by many research groups for various
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must be in contact with the sensor. The following issues washable in order to be integrated into a textile. Materials
must therefore be considered for integration: that have similar mechanical properties to the textile are
required.
Fluid movement/control - The garment must collect
samples and deliver samples to sensor. If the sensor is Safety – The overall assembly of sensor must be safe for
detecting the external environment, e.g. acidic gas the wearer’s health. Non-toxic or hazardous chemicals
plumes, the sample is likely to be volatile, whereas if the must be avoided or well isolated from the wearer.
sensor is monitoring the body’s physiology the sample Practically, encapsulation is required to separate its
e.g. sweat must be delivered to the sensor. In either case potential harm from body. Components that pose a risk
there may be a need for reagent handling, fluid control of electric should be avoided, e.g. ICP based devices use
and waste storage, for which, the dynamic control of fluid low operation voltage ~ 1 V. whereas some piezoelectric
is preferred. The development of fluid handling systems micropumps use high AC voltage
requires efficient microfluidic pumps. Some micropumps
may require extremely high voltage to operate [6-8],
some are slow to complete an actuation cycle [9-11],
some are complicated in configuration and only suitable
for particular applications [12-15]. One class of emerging
actuation materials for micro-pumps are the inherently
conducting polymers (ICPs). Their novel actuation
mechanism is based on the reversible ion doping /
dedoping process to electrical stimu lation at low voltage ~
1 V [16] (Figure 1). It is capable of producing at least 10
times more force than skeletal muscle, and potentially
1000 times more [17] and a comparable strain ~ 26% [18]
are also practically achievable.

+ - 0
A- +e
+ m A-
N - e- N
n n
H
m
H
m
(a) Figure 2. Concept of wearable chemical biosensors for
health monitoring using electroactive functional
+
A
- + e-
0 -
A
materials, Functionalised material (1) in contact with the
+

N
+ mX
-e -
N
X+ skin draws sweat with primary target species, (2) into the
H
n
m H
n
m
(b) fibre tubules or bundles such as the TITAN micropump,
(3) channels for the fluid handling to desired locations,
(4) waste collection region, (5) surface with sensing
Figure 1. Schematic diagram showing the ion doping capabilities to specifically interact with the target species
/dedoping process in response to the electrical
and generate a signal through LEDs.
reduction/oxidation of polypyrrole, where A- is the dopant
anion incorporated into the PPy during synthesis, X-
represents a cation from the electrolyte, n is the number 3. Colorimetric pH Fabric Sensor
of pyrrole units for each A- incorporated, and m is the
numbers of PPy repeat units that determine the molecular A colorimetric approach is taken to develop a
weight of polymer, (a) A is small and mobile anionic textile -based pH sensor. This involves using pH sensitive
dopant, (b) A is bulky and immobile anionic dopant. dyes that have different absorption properties depending
on their pH. The change in pH can therefore be detected
A micropump called TITAN (means the ‘tube in using optical components. The pH indicator may be
tube aligned node’) has been constructed and reported in immobilised within the sensor either onto the surface of
an earlier paper [19]. The intrinsic resistance of ICP can the components or onto the textile substrate itself and the
be utilised to create a peristaltic pumping regime with colour may be monitored using either a transmission or
great potential for integration with small devices such as reflectance mode configuration, as shown in figure 2.
wearable chemical sensors. LEDs have been chosen to perform this optical sensing as
they are versatile components that have been
Calibration - Regeneration of original surface demonstrated to operate as detectors as well as light
characteristics is extremely difficult and devices have to sources. Operating LEDs as the light source and detector
be constantly calibrated. This links in with fluid handling lends to a low-cost and low-power solution which is
and control, the overall concept is illustrated in figure 2. desirable for any wearable application.

Wearability – The sensor itself (including the fluid Immobilisation of the dye onto the textile is the
handling components) must be robust, miniature, flexible, chosen approach, as this allows sweat samples to be
delivered more easily to the textile sensor when the textile

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