Transforming healthcare with smart textiles

Footfalls and Heartbeats are taking wearables to the next level by turning textiles into sensors.

Originally founded in New Zealand by Simon McMaster, Footfalls and Heartbeats moved to the UK in 2015, with the smart textile company taking up residence in Nottingham - a city steeped in textile history. Footfalls have developed an innovative and patented knitting technique, whereby “The Textile is the Sensor”. This avoids the need for embedded electronics and has the potential to revolutionise the field of smart textiles, offering ground-breaking innovation in a variety of industries such as sports/fitness and healthcare.

Splitting into two key areas, Footfalls’ technology comprises pressure sensing and strain detection. Absolute pressure sensors harness optical fibre technology knitted into a piece of fabric, thus allowing the accurate continuous measurement of absolute pressure in real time. Knitted pressure sensors can track multiple pressure points across a surface. This

The potential for this technology is wide reaching, particularly in healthcare. The sensors can transform compression therapy, which is the main method of treatment for Venous Leg Ulcers, and applying the right level of pressure to the wound is crucial. Venous Leg Ulcers are a growing health problem in the UK, costing the NHS an estimated £5 billion a year.

technology has already seen a key application through the creation of a smart shoe, knitted on a state-of-the-art circular knitting machine – the only one of its kind in the UK. The smart shoe has the ability to monitor and offer feedback on the wearer’s daily activity, offering information on walking/running patterns. The versatile nature of the pressure sensors enables them to be knitted into a range of different surfaces such as seating, bedding and sports mats. This opens up a host of potential opportunities and industries to revolutionise, from aiding sport rehabilitation and injuries, to healthcare and gait management.

Footfalls’ final technology is a knitted ‘smart sleeve’ for strain detection, which accurately measures joint movement through tracking flexion and extension. When combined with an interactive display, it can offer detailed tracking and monitoring of joint movement for both the elbow and the knee, all while being a comfortable and convenient knitted sleeve.

The smart sleeve technology has the potential to transform the face of sportsrelated rehabilitation, helping to assist those recovering from muscular injuries and track their recovery. The smart sleeve also has promising applications in the field of VR.