First results with the wealthy garment ElectroCardiogram monitoring system

The Wealthy project aimed at measuring physiological variables with sensors made with functionalised yarns integrated in a well fitting cloth. Two sets of experiments were carried out to verify whether the Wealthy garment provides ECG and respiratory data reliable and satisfactory for physicians. In the first one, ECG was simultaneously recorded by a standard device and the Wealthy system during simulation of common daily activity at the hospital in five male cardiac patients. No differences were consistently observed between standard and wealthy systems for visual and spectral analysis. The second set of experiment was performed in seven healthy subjects during either daily activities in normal or hot conditions (45°C) or during the night. When the standard signal was rated as good, the Wealthy signal was rated as good or acceptable in 95 % of time for ECG and 100 % for the respiratory signal. Monitoring of ECG with fabric sensor is thus proved feasible.