A Technical Seminar report submitted on

WEARABLE BIOSENSORS

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY

IN

ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

Submitted by

A.SAIRASHI
(18HR1A0402)

Under the esteemed guidance of

Dr.M. SHANTHA KUMAR, M.E., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of ECE

Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering

MOTHER THERESA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
Accredited by NAAC, Approved by AICTE, New Delhi, Affiliated to JNTUA,
Ananthapuramu An ISO 9001:2015 Certified Institution
Melumoi Cross, Palamaner, Chittoor (Dist.)-5 17408

(2018-2022)
 MOTHER THERESA INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Accredited by NAAC, Approved by AICTE, New Delhi: Affiliated to JNTUA, Ananthapuramu
An ISO 9001:2015 Certified Institution
Melumoi Cross, Palamaner, Chittoor (Dist.)-517408
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering

Certificate
This is to certify that the Technical Seminar report entitled

WEARABLE BIOSENSORS

is the bonafide work done and

submitted by

A. SAIRASHI (18HR1A0402)

in the Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering, Mother Theresa Institute of

Engineering & Technology, Palamaner affiliated to J.N.T.U.A, Ananthapuramu in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the award of Bachelor of Technology in Electronics & Communication
Engineering during 2018-2022.

Seminar Guide Seminar Coordinator HOD

Dr.M. SHANTHAKUMAR, M.E., Ph.D. Dr.M.SHANTHAKUMAR, M.E.,Ph.D. Prof.L. RAMA MURTHY,M.Tech.,(Ph.D.)

Associate Professor Associate Professor Professor

Submitted on:
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Any achievement, be it scholastic or otherwise does not depend solely on the

individual effort but on the guidance, encouragement and cooperation of intellectuals,
elders and friends. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them all.

I feel myself honored to place our warm salutation to THE MANAGEMENT of

Mother Theresa Institute of Engineering & Technology, Palamaner, which gave us the
opportunity to obtain a strong base in B. Tech and profound knowledge.

I express our sincere thanks to Dr. M. LAKSHMIKANTHA REDDY, Ph.D. our

beloved Principal for his encouragement and suggestions during our course of study.

With deep sense of gratitude, I acknowledge Prof.L. Ramamurthy, M.Tech.,(Ph.D.)

Head of the Department, Electronics and Communication Engineering, for his valuable
support and help in completing my technical seminar successfully.

I express our sincere thanks to technical seminar coordinator Dr.M.

SHANTHAKUMAR, M.E.,Ph.D., Associate Professor, for his valuable suggestions and
guidance in completing the technical seminar successfully.

I whole-heartedly express my gratitude and esteemed regards to my technical

seminar guide, Dr.M. SHANTHAKUMAR, M.E.,Ph.D., Associate Professor in Department
of ECE, for providing me invaluable gratitude and inspiration in carrying out my technical
seminar. His constant support and encouragement enable me to complete this work
successfully.

Finally, I would like to express our sincere thanks to Faculty Members in

Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering and Lab technicians, friends
& family members, who have helped me to complete this work successfully.

With regards,

A. SAIRASHI
( 18HR1A0402)
 CONTENTS

PAGE NO.
LIST OF FIGURES I
LIST OF ABBREVATIONS II
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
CHAPTER 2: DEVELOPMENT OF WEARABLE BIOSENSOR 2
2.1 Ring Sensor 2
2.1.1. Basic Principle of Ring Sensor 2
2.1.2. Working of Ring Sensor 3
2.1.3. Block diagram 5
2.1.4. Applications of Ring Sensor 6
2.1.5. Advantages and Disadvantages 6
2.2 Smart Shirt 7
2.2.1 Requirements of Smart shirt 7
2.2.2 Architecture of Smart Shirt 8
2.2.3 Applications of Smart Shirt 11
2.2.4 Impact of Smart Shirt 13
2.2.5 Advantages and Disadvantages 14
CHAPTER 3: CONCLUSION 15
CHAPTER 4: FUTURE SCOPE 16
CHAPTER 5: REFERENCES 17
 LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE NO. FIGURE NAME PAGE NO

Fig 2.1.1 Noise Cancellation Mechanism 3

Fig 2.1.2 Prototype of Ring Sensor 4
Fig 2.1.3 Block Diagram of Ring Sensor 5
Fig 2.2.1 Requirements of Smart shirt 8
Fig 2.2.2 Architecture of Smart shirt 10
Fig 2.2.3 Smart shirt potential Applications 12
Fig 2.2.4 Applications of Smart shirt 13
Fig 2.2.5 Smart shirt 14
Fig 2.2.6 Applications of Biosensors 15

I
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ACRONYM EXPANSION PAGE NO.

LED Light Emitting diode 2
GTWM Georgia tech wearable motherboard 7
ECG Electro Cardiogram 9
DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 9
PSM Personal Status Monitor 10
MEMS Micro Electromechanical Systems 15

II
 ABSTRACT

Wearable biosensors are gaining endless interest nowadays and today they promise to be one of
the greatest developments in the sector of wearable health technology. Wearable biosensors, a main
category of biosensors is best to use for health care, sports applications, military etc. Rapid growth of
these devices is on the way which will help to provide benefits like easy to use, low cost and providing
real time information and interaction between doctors and patients. WBS are the digital devices that
can be worn on the body. Wearable systems or devices as like smart shirts, smart watches, thin
bandages or tattoos allowing blood glucose levels, blood pressure, heart beat and other biometric data
to be calculated continuously and constantly. This real time information is then transferred wirelessly
to healthcare providers or monitors. Wearable Biosensors are generally a combination of wearable
objects and biosensors. Smart wearable biosensors in the technology industry are one that is looking to
be a big and profitable market.
KEYWORDS: Wearable biosensors, smart shirts, smart watches.
 WEARABLE BIOSENSORS
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Wearable sensors and systems have evolved to the point that they can be considered ready for
clinical application. The use of wearable monitoring devices that allow continuous or intermittent
monitoring of physiological signals is critical for the advancement of both the diagnosis as well as
treatment of diseases.

Wearable systems are totally non-obtrusive devices that allow physicians to overcome the
limitations of ambulatory technology and provide a response to the need for monitoring individuals
over weeks or months. They typically rely on wireless miniature sensors enclosed in patches or
bandages or in items that can be worn, such as ring or shirt. The data sets recorded using these systems
are then processed to detect events predictive of possible worsening of the patient’s clinical situations
or they are explored to access the impact of clinical interventions.

The history of biosensors started in 1962 with the development of enzyme electrodes by scientist
Leland C. Clark. Since then, research communities from various fields such as very large-scale
integration (VLSI), physics, chemistry, and material science have come together to develop more
sophisticated, reliable, and mature biosensing devices. Applications for these devices are in the fields
of medicine, agriculture, biotechnology as well as the military and bioterrorism detection and
prevention.
What is a biosensor? Various definitions and terminologies are used depending on the field of
application. Biosensors are known as immunosensors, chemical canaries, resonant mirrors,
glucometers, biochips, and biocomputers. Two commonly cited definitions by S.P.J. Higson and D.M.
Frazer, respectively, are a biosensor is a chemical sensing device in which a biologically derived
recognition entity is coupled to a transducer, to allow the quantitative development of some complex
biochemical parameter, and a biosensor is an analytical device incorporating a deliberate and intimate
combination of a specific biological element (that creates a recognition event) and a physical element

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2.DEVELOPMENT OF WEARABLE BIOSENSOR

2.1. RING SENSOR

It is a pulse oximetry sensor that allows one to continuously monitor heart rate and oxygen
saturation in a totally unobtrusive way. The device is shaped like a ring and thus it can be worn for
long periods of time without any discomfort to the subject.
The ring sensor is equipped with a low power transceiver that accomplishes bi-directional
communication with a base station, and to upload data at any point of time.

2.1.1 BASIC PRINCIPLE OF RING SENSOR

Each time the heart muscle contracts, blood is ejected from the ventricles and a pulse of
pressure is transmitted through the circulatory system. This pressure pulse when traveling through the
vessels, causes vessel wall displacement which is measurable at various points .in order to detect
pulsatile blood volume changes by photoelectric method, photo conductors are used. Normally photo
resistors are used, for amplification purpose photo transistors are used.

Light is emitted by LED and transmitted through the artery and the resistance of photo resistor
is determined by the amount of light reaching it with each contraction of heart, blood is forced to the
extremities and the amount of blood in the finger increases. It alters the optical density with the result
that the light transmission through the finger reduces and the resistance of the photo resistor increases
accordingly. The photoresistor is connected as a part of voltage divider circuit and produces a voltage
that varies with the amount of blood in the finger. This voltage that closely follows the pressure pulse.

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 WEARABLE BIOSENSORS
2.1.2 WORKING

The LEDs and PD are placed on the flanks of the finger either reflective or transmittal
type can be used. For avoiding motion disturbances quite stable transmittal method is used.
Transmittal type has a powerful LED for transmitting light across the finger. This power
consumption problem can be solved with a light modulation technique using high-speed
devices. Instead of lighting the skiing continuously, the LED is turned ON only for a short time,
say 10-100 ns, and the signal is sampled within this period, high frequency, low duty rate
modulation is used for preventing skin-burning problem.

The motion of the finger can be measure with an optical sensor. This motion detector
can be used not only for monitoring the presence of motion but also for cancelling the noise. By
using PD-B as a noise reference, a noise cancellation filter can be built to eliminate the noise of
PD-A that completes with the noise references used. An adaptive noise cancellation method is
used.

Fig 2.1. 1 Noise Cancellation Mechanism

The noise-cancelling filter combines two sensor signals, one is the main signal captured
by PD-A and the other is the noise reference obtained by PD-B. The main signal mostly consists
of the truce pulsate signal, but it does contain some noise. If we know the proportion of noise
contained in the main signal, we can sensate the contained in the main signal, we can generate
the noise of the same magnitude by attending the noise reference signal and then subtract the
noise from the main signal to recover the true pulsatile signal

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Fig.2.1.2. Prototype of Ring Sensor

The ring has a microcomputer performing all the device controls and low-level signal
processing including LED modulation, data acquisition, filtering, and bi-directional RF
communication. The acquired waveforms sampled at 100Hz are transmitted to a cellular phone
carried by the patient through an RF link of 105Kbps at a carrier frequency of 915 MHz the
cellular phone accesses a website for data storage and clinical diagnosis.
Ring Sensors consists of circuit Board, outer ring, inner ring, displacement of the ring,
Optical Sensor Unit (LED, Photodetector). By applying external force on the internal ring and
external ring there will be displacement of the ring. The first prototype ring sensor with RF
transmitter powered by a coin size cell battery is shown and the dislocation of ring sensors due
to external load along with traditional single -body design under external force is shown with a
New Isolating double ring sensor under external force.

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2.1.3. BLOCK DIAGRAM OF RING SENSOR

Fig.2.1.3 Block Diagram of Ring Sensor

Power for light source, photo detector, RF transmitter and analog and digital
processing units provided by a tiny cell battery used for wrist watches. Lifetime is 2 to 3
weeks.
Light Source
Light source for the ring sensor is the LED, approximately wavelength of 660 nm.
Photo Detector
Photo detector is normally photodiode or phototransistor used for detecting the signal from
the LED.

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RF Transmitter
It is used for transmitting the measured signals. Its carrier frequency is 915MHz.
LED Modulation
Power consumption problem can be solved with a lighting modulation technique. Instead of
lighting the skin continually the LED is turned on only for a short time, say 100-1000ns and
the signal is sampled within the period. High frequency low duty cycle modulation
implemented minimizes LED power consumption.
Data Acquisition
It is used to collect the data from sensor and data are sampled and recorded.
Filtering
The signal from the PD-B as a noise reference a noise cancellation filter can be built to
eliminate the noise of PD-A that correlates with the noise reference signal. For noise
cancellation we use the adaptive noise filter.
2.1.4 APPLICATIONS OF THE
RINGSENSOR CATRASTOPHE DETECTION
· In an overcrowded emergency department.

CHRONIC MEDICAL CONDITION

· in cardiovascular disease for monitoring the hyper tension.
· chronic surveillance of abnormal heart failure.

2.1.5 ADVANTAGES
· Continuous monitoring.
· Detection of transient phenomena.
· Promote further diagnostic and therapeutic measures.
· Easy to use.
· Reducing hospitalization fee.

DISADVANTAGES
· Initial cost is high.
· Limited number of physiological parameters are to be monitored.

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2.2 SMART SHIRT (WEARABLE MOTHERBOARD)

Smart shirt developed at Georgia tech which represents the first attempt at relying an
unobtrusive, mobile and easy to use vital signs monitoring system, presents the key applications of
the smart shirt technology along with its impact on the practice of medicine, and covers key
opportunities to create the next generation of truly “adaptive and responsive” medical systems.
Research on the design and development of a smart shirt fort a combat casualty care has led to
the realization of the world’s first wearable motherboard or an “intelligent” garment for the 21 st
century. The Georgia tech wearable motherboard (GTWM) uses optical fibers to detect bullet wounds
and special sensors and interconnects to monitor the body vital signs during combat conditions. This
GTWM (smart shirt) provides an extremely versatile framework for the incorporation of sensing,
monitoring and information processing devices. The principal advantage of smart shirt is that it
provides for the first time a very systematic way of monitoring the vital signs of humans in an
unobtrusive manner.
2.2.1. REQUIREMENTS OF SMART SHIRT
Casualties are associated with combat and sometimes are inevitable. Since medical resources
are limited in a combat scenario, there is critical need to make optimum use of the available resources
to minimize the loss of human life, which has value that is priceless. In a significant departure from
the past, the loss of even a single soldier in a war can alter the nations engagement strategy making it
all the important to save lives.

Similarly, on the civilian side, the population is aging and the cost of the health care delivery
is expected to increase at a rate faster than it is today. With the decreasing number of doctors in rural
areas, the doctor/patient ratio is in certain instances reaching unacceptable levels for ensuring a basic
sense of security when they leave the hospital because they feel “cut off” from the continuous watch
and care they received in the hospital. This degree of uncertainty can greatly influence their
postoperative recovery. Therefore, there is a need to continuously monitor such patients and give
them the added peace of mind so that the positive psychological impact will speed up the recovery
process. Context of advancements in computing and telecommunication, likewise continuous
monitoring of astronauts in space, of athletes during practice sessions and in competition, of law
enforcement personnel and combat soldiers in the line of duty are all extremely important.

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2.2.2 ARCHITECTURE

The GTWM was woven into a single –piece garment (an undershirt) on a weaving machine to
fit a 38-40” chest. The plastic optical fiber (POF) is spirally integrated into the structure during the
fabric production process without any discontinuities at the armhole using a novel modification in the
weaving process.

Fig.2.2.1 Requirements of Smart shirts

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The sensors will plug into these connectors and at the other end similar T-connector will be
used to transmit their information for monitoring equipment or DARPA (Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency) personnel status monitor .By making the sensors detachable from the garments, the
versatility I\of the Georgia Tech Smart Shirt has been significantly enhanced. Since shapes and sizes
of humans will be different, sensors can be positioned on the right locations for all users and without
any constraints being imposed by the smart shirt can be truly “customized”. Moreover, the smart shirt
can be laundered without any damage to the sensors themselves.

The interconnection technology has been used to integrate sensors for monitoring the
following vital signs: temperature, heart rate and respiration rate. In addition, a microphone has been
attached to transmit the weavers voice data to monitoring locations. Other sensors can be easily
integrated into the structure. The flexible data bus integrated into the stricture transmits the
information from the suite of the sensors to the multifunction processor known as the Smart shirt
controller. This controller in turn processes the signals and transmit them wirelessly to desired
locations (e.g.: doctor’s office, hospital, battlefield). The bus also serves to transmit information to the
sensors (and hence the weaver) from the external sources, thus making the smart shirt a valuable
information infrastructure.

An interconnection technology was developed to transmit information from (and to) sensors
mounted at any location on the body thus creating a flexible “bus” structure. T-connectors –similar to
“button clips” used in clothing are attached to the fibers that serve as a data bus to carry the
information from the sensors (e.g.: ECG sensors) on the body.

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Fig 2.2. 1 Architecture of Smart shirt

A combat soldier sensor to his body, pulls the smart shirt on, and attaches the sensors to the
smart shirt. The smart shirt functions like a motherboard, with plastic optical fibers and other special
fibers woven throughout the actual fabric of the shirt. To pinpoint the exact location of a bullet
penetration, a “signal” is sent from one end of the plastic optical fiber to a receiver at the other end.
The emitter and the receiver are connected to a Personal Status Monitor (psm) worn at the hip level
by the soldier. If the light from the emitter does not reach the receiver inside the PSM, it signifies that
the smart shirt has been penetrated (i.e.; the soldier has been shot). The signal bounces back to the
PSM forum the point of penetration, helping the medical personnel pinpoint the exact location the
solider wounds.

The soldier’s vital signs –heart rate, temperature, respiration rate etc. are monitored in two
ways: through the sensors integrated into the T-shirt: and through the sensors on the soldier’s body,
both of which are connected to the PSM. Information on the soldiers wound and the condition is
immediately transmitted electronically from the PSM to a medical triage unit somewhere near the
battlefield. The triage unit them dispatches the approximate medical personnel to the scene. The
Georgia tech smart shirt can help a physician determine the extent of a soldier’s injuries based on the
strength of his heart beat and respiratory rate. This information is vital for accessing who needs
assistance first during the so-called “Golden Hour” in which there are numerous casualties.

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2.2.3. APPLICATIONS OF SMART SHIRT

· Combat casualty care.

· Medical monitoring.
· Sports/ Performance monitoring.
· Space experiments
· Mission critical/ hazardous application.
· Fire- fighting.

The vital signs information gathered by the various sensors on the body travels through
the smart shirt controller for processing, from these, the computed vital signals are wirelessly
transmitted using the “communication information infrastructure” in place in that application
(e.g.: the firefighters, communication systems, battlefield communication infrastructure, the
hospital network) to the monitoring station. There, the back-end Data display and Management
system – with a built –in knowledge –based decision support system- in reverse these vital signs
ask in real-time and provide the right response to the situation.
·
Table 1 summarizes the broad range of application of the smart shirt technology. The table
also shows the application type and the target population that can utilize the technology.

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Fig.2.2.3. Smart Shirt: Potential Applications

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Fig.2.2.4. Applications of Smart shirt

2.2.4. IMPACT OF THE SMART SHIRT

The smart shirt will have significant impact on the practice of medium since it fulfills the
critical need for a technology that can enhance the quality of life while reducing the health care cost
across the continuum of life that is from newborns to senior citizens, and across the continuum of
medical care that is from hospitals and everywhere in between.
The smart shirt can contribute to reduction in health care cost while enhancing the quality of
life. For instance, patients could wear the smart shirt at home and be monitored by a monitoring
station; thereby avoiding hospital stay cost and reducing the overall cost of healthcare. At also same
home, a home setting can contribute to faster recovery. For example, if the patient recovering at home
from heart surgery is wearing the smart shirt, the ECG can be transmitted wirelessly (through mobile
phone, internet etc.) to the hospital on a regular basis. This monitoring will help the patient feel more
“secure” and will facilitate the recuperation while simultaneously reducing the cost time associated
with recovery.

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2.2.5. ADVANTAGES OF THE SMART SHIRT

· Continuous monitoring.
· Right Treatment at the right time at the right cost.
· Easy to wear and takeoff.
· Reducing the health care cost.
DISADVANTAGES OF THE SMART SHIRT
· Initial cost is high.
· Battery life is less.

Fig 2.2.5. Smart Shirt

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Fig 2.2.6 Applications of Biosensors

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CHAPTER 3
FUTURE SCOPE
By providing the “platform” for a suite of sensors that can be utilized to monitor an
individual unobtrusively. Smart Shirt technology opens up existing opportunities to develop
“adaptive and responsive” systems that can “think” and “act” based on the user’s condition, stimuli
and environment. Thus, the rich vital signs delta steam from the smart shirt can be used to design
and experiment “real-time” feedback mechanism (as part of the smart shirt system) to embrace the
quality of care for this individual by providing appropriate and timely medical inspections.

Certain individuals are susceptible to anaphylaxis reaction (an allergic reaction) when stung by
a bee or spider and need a shot of epinephrine (adrenaline) immediately to prevent above illness or
even fatalities. By applying advancement in MEMS (Micro-Electromechanical Systems) technology, a
feedback system including a dry delivery system-can be integrated into the smart shirt mechanism to
guard against inadvertent administration of dry can be built as a part of the control system.

Likewise, the Smart shirt’s delta acquisition capabilities can be used to detect the condition
when an individual is lapsing into a diabetic shock and this integrated feedback mechanism can
provide the appropriate response to prevent a fatality. Thus, the smart shirt represents yet another
significant milestone in the endeavor to save and enhance the quality of human life through the use
of advanced technologies.

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CHAPTER 4

CONCLUSION

The ring sensor and smart shirt are an effective and comfortable, and mobile information
infrastructure that can be made to the individual’s requirements to take advantage of the
advancements in telemedicine and information processing. Just as special-purpose chips and
processors can be plugged into a computer motherboard to obtain the required information
processing capability, the smart shirt is an information infrastructure into which the wearer can “plug
in” the desired sensors and devices, thereby creating a system for monitoring vital signs in an
efficient and cost effective manner with the “universal“ interface of clothing.
Advanced technologies such as the smart shirt have at partial to dramatically alter its landscape
of healthcare delivery and at practice of medicine as we know them today. By enhancing the quality of
life, minimizing “medical” errors, and reducing healthcare costs, the patient-control wearable
information infrastructure can play a vital role in realizing the future healthcare system. Just as the
spreadsheet pioneered the field of information processing that brought “computing to the masses”. It is
anticipated that the smart shirt will bring personalized and affordable healthcare monitoring to the
population at large, thus leading to the realization of “Affordable Healthcare, Any place, Anytime,
Anyone”.

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CHAPTER 5

REFERENCES
1. H. Harry Asada, “Mobile monitoring with wearable ppg sensors”, IEEE
engineering in medicine and biology magazine 22, pp- 28-39 may/June 2003.
2. Park and Jayaraman,” Enhancing the quality of life through wearable technology”,
IEEE engineering in medicine and biology magazine, vol22, pp- 41-48 may/June
2003.
3. Handbook of biomedical instrumentation, Chandpur ,pp-138,233,238
4. R. Neuman, “Biomedical sensors”, handbook of biomedical instrumentation, pp-
725-755
5. http://www.smartshirt.gatech.edu
6. http://www.wearables.gatech.edu
7. http://www.smartring.gatech.edu

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