Wearable electronic textiles conductive fabrics

Several efforts to create prototypes of wearable functional devices have been made in the last years. Most of them consider the approach of joining conventional off-the-shelf electronic devices to fabrics, such as microcontrollers, LED s, optical fibres and all kinds of sensors, especially electrodes for ECG measurement. The consolidated textile technology for integrating conductive yams into knitted or woven fabrics and the implementation of sensors through embroidery has encouraged their use as suitable means for connection, data communication and power transfer. 

E-textiles may be defined as textiles with electronic properties, and the markets for E-textiles are rapidly growing. An E-textile is an application built within a textile. E-textiles are finding their use in wearable technology, sports and fitness markets, medical and health monitoring systems, sleep apnea monitoring systems, antenna applications, space, military, infotainment, fashion, and others. Conductive tapes, webbings, fabrics, and 3D preforms are being used for E-textile applications. E-textile markets will soon be a billion dollar industry. 

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