Optical textiles make MRI scans safer

02 Dec '08

4 min read

Although other non-electronic devices can be used to measure vital functions, they can be cumbersome and expensive. And while optical technology is already in use for MRI monitoring, the patient often needs to be switched between two or three different systems as they are moved between different parts of the hospital.

Woven into textiles
The system developed by OFSETH avoids the need for such changes by incorporating the sensors into a garment worn by the patient. Plastic optical fibres are particularly suitable for such applications as they can be woven into the fabric.

“The main innovation is to use optical fibre sensors embedded into textile during the fabrication process for medical applications,” says Narbonneau. “The key idea is to provide a garment which allows monitoring of the patient from arrival at the hospital until departure without changing or disconnecting the monitoring system.”

All the hardware components are now ready and the next phase is to integrate them into a prototype garment which will then be tested in clinical trials. The project is due to finish in August 2009.

The ten partners contributed their expertise on healthcare, optical sensing and textile technology to make the project a reality. The lessons learned can be applied to a much wider range of applications. For example, the team is already planning to use the same sensors to create baby clothes that can be used at home to guard against sudden 'cot deaths'.

OFSETH is part of SFIT, a cluster of projects to develop 'smart' textiles supported by the EU's Sixth Framework Programme for research. ICT Results will publish in coming weeks a special series of features associated with the SFIT cluster.

Cordis - OFSETH project

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