15 – Medical applications of smart textiles

: Smart fabrics and interactive textiles are a relatively new area of research, with many potential applications in the field of biomedical engineering. Sensors integrated into textiles in contact with the body have the ability to capture many useful physiological signals. This chapter discusses some of the signals that can be measured using smart textiles and examples of the application of this technology. Future trends in this area of research are presented and issues regarding technology development and its uptake are highlighted.