Volume 7, Issue 7, July – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No:-2456-2165

A Review of Wearable Sensors In Medical

Electronics
Sruthy R
Guest Lecturer, Dept of Electronics & Communication
N.S.S Polytechnic College, Pandalam

Abstract:- Wearable devices plays a major role in uplifting

the life quality of bed ridden patients. It is becoming a
favorite comrade of health conscious people also. Several
sensors are used for monitoring the various biological
signals of patients suffering from illness like neurological
disorders, physiological limitations etc. In this paper
sensors, which forms the heart of wearable devices are
reviewed. It also discusses the challenges in wearable
technology.

Keywords:- Wearable Devices,Sensors,Smart Clothing.

I. INTRODUCTION

Increasing user demands and developing services has

pushed Information and communication Technology (ICT) to
grow seamlessly .Internet of Things or simply IOT is a
network of Physical objects. These physical objects are
embedded with softwares sensors and other technologies. The
Purpose of IOT is to exchange data between devices through
internet. Availability of Consumer and Medical devices
equipped with wearable sensor technology has grown over the
years. These devices can provide real-time feeds about an Fig 1.1 Wearable devices Forecast [4]
individual’s health status. These devices find it’s use in
manage/monitor chronic disease progression ( elderly, within From sports and recreation to biomedical verity of
rehabilitation, and for those with various disabilities )[2]. applications uses human motion detection. Recent times,
Wearable electronics can be defined as the “Devices that can consumer electronics has used different semiconductor-based
be worn or mated with human skin to continuously and closely tracking tools to allow customers to access various kinds of
monitor an individual's activities, without interrupting or interface control that use body motions and gestures. But , due
limiting the user's motions [3]. to need for high accuracy in the biomedical field, these devices
are not typically designed only for medical application.
Wearable device are used mostly in Veltink and Boom introduced an initial concept of using
construction/building, logistics and healthcare industries. uniaxial accelerometer sensors in motion tracking 1996[5].
Health condition of elderly people and patients with chronic Different clinical studies have been conducted on posture
illness can be easily monitored using wearable devices. Safety estimation using accelerometers for introducing the concept of
of workers like heatstroke prevention while working outside motion tracking.[6]. To improve precision of motion tracking
under the sun and sleep monitoring to alert drivers are some of , researchers incorporated the concept of semiconductor based
the use cases in constriction/building and logistics industries. gyroscopes with accelerometers which results in easier
According to IDTechEx research ( In July 2016 ) the market biomechanical assessments. Once the trackers are more
of wearable technology will reach over $30bn. reliable by using an integrated gyroscope , the main focus for
clinical application using inertial motion tracking was gait
Then continue to grow in three stages: analysis. For using this device for clinical needs , and for gait
motion, gravity sensitive accelerometers are used to estimate
1st Stage - A limited but two-digit growth of 10% growth until the tilt angles between gravity vector and sensor’s axes.
2018 when the market would be worth over $40bn Rotenberg proposed the initial version of the integrated
2nd Stage - An accelerated growth with a yearly growth of 23% sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer ) which
through to over $100bn by 2023 provide very accurate data with 9 DoE in 2006. Rotenberg
3rd Stage - Slower growth (11 %) to reach over $150bn by proposed by using a set of tri-axial accelerometers, tri-axial
2026 [4]. gyroscopes, and a magnetometer to estimate and monitor
human motion [3].

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Volume 7, Issue 7, July – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
used to measure rotational acceleration, while some systems
would like to incorporate both for filtering errors. Precision of
the data tracked can be increased by using gyroscope.
Different types of gyroscopes are available like gas bearing ,
mechanical and optical.

 Magnetometers
Magnetometers can be integrated to create an inertial
measurement unit (IMU) with accelerometers and gyroscopes.
All of these sensors can feature three axes each, are very similar
to a compass and can improve balance. Magnetometers are
used for filtering the motion orientation.

 Heart rate sensors

Various techniques and sensors are available for
measuring heart rate. One method uses capacitive sensing to
Fig 1.2: a human body with location of multiple wearable idealize the electrode (sensor) and the skin as two parts of a
devices. conventional capacitor. A technology used with light to track
blood flow volume changes is Photoplethysmography. Fitness
The figure shows a human body with location of trackers like Fitbit rely on this approach using a photodiode.
multiple wearable devices. Head bands usually embed EEG There is a continuous green light transmitted to the skin of the
which provides details of brain waves of patient. Devices like wearer, which measures the light absorption by the
smart watches are fused with Accelerometers, Location GPS, photodiode. This information is transferred so that pulse can
Oximeters, Thermometers etc. .These type of wearable be calculated. If there is an increase in the blood passing
devices closely correlates with modern man’s life style. through the user’s bloodstream , then the diode will absorb
more light.
II. SENSORS USED IN WEARABLE
TECHNOLOGY  Pressure Sensors
Usually, pressure sensors operate from strain gauges.
 Accelerometers When pressure is applied to sensors, the circuit causes a change
Accelerometers are sensors used in wearables. Their in resistance. Mechanical quantities like force are observed in
brand of acceleration, such as gravity and linear, demonstrates many ways and are transformed into resistance-dependent
their sensing capabilities. The measuring capability of the electronic measurements. This method of measuring pressure
accelerometers helps the programming of measured data for is achieved through the construction of a Wheatstone Bridge,
multiple use cases. For instance, a user who runs can access which can track static or dynamic resistance changes. The
their maximum speed output along with acceleration. Further, sensing device will comprise one, two or four arms in the
they can track sleep patterns. configuration of the Wheatstone Bridge. The number depends
on the use of the device (how many in tension and
 Gyroscopes compression). The sensor mechanism allows them to be
Gyroscopes are also a common wearable sensor. They integrated into external factors such as ball contact monitoring
differ from accelerometers by recording only angular equipment.
accelerations. In some implementations, the accelerometer is

Table 2.1
Types Location Application Accuracy Available devices
Motion Sensors Arm, Leg Fall risk assessment, Sports 99% [3] Activity Monitors , Smart
1) Accelerometers Field, Monitoring the elderly. Clothing,
2) Gyroscopes Fitness Bands ,
3) Magnetometers Sports Gear, Smart Watches
Temperature Sensors Skin Monitoring of Blood Sugar , 94% [3] Smart watches
Delivery of Drug and Bio Stickers
absorption, wound or malignant
tumor changes.
Heart Rate Sensors Wrist, Finger Cardiovascular Care,Body 94% [3] Smart Watches, Fitness Bands
tip Fitness
Pressure Sensors Skin Fall Risk Assessment, 94% [3] Smart Watches,
Assessing Altitude Change. Smart Band,
Smart Phones
Pulse Oxygenation Wrist, Finger Detecting Sleep Apnea, 94% [3] Fingertip Oximeters ,
Sensor tip Monitoring oxygen saturation Ring type Oximeters
in blood

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Volume 7, Issue 7, July – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
III. SMART CLOTHING  Battery technology
Existing types of wearable batteries include Alkaline
Smart clothing is one of the booming areas of wearable Batteries, Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) Batteries, Nickel-Metal-
technology which includes garments and footwear with Hybrid (Ni-MH) Batteries, Lithium-Ion Polymer (Li-poly)
integrated sensors that transmit biometric signals. According Batteries, TENGs or triboelectric nanogenerators etc. The
to Global Data forecast, smart clothing market is expected to energy-harvesting technology or power harvesting technology
expand to over $4bn by 2030. Smart clothes incorporates is an emerging area in battery technology. Here energy from
interwoven circuitry which captures the bio signals like heart external sources such as heat, light, vibrations, radio waves etc
beat, blood pressure etc and they can interact with mobile are harvested using appropriate techniques and suitable
apps. They can also connect using WiFi or blue tooth to transducers are used to convert the collected energy into
laptops. electrical energy.

Some of the of Use cases of modern world smart clothing  Data Collection &Processing Issues
includes. Wearable industry involves collection and analysis of big
data. A smooth interoperability of data is required without
Smart shoes: Limited-edition tech sneakers were compromising the data privacy and accessibility of patient’s
introduced by Pizza Hut that can order pizza. data. Since there is no control over the devices and data
permissions, users cannot shutdown a sensor individually or
Smart work clothes: Some of the successful companies stop data collection. This makes it difficult to authorize
that makes smart clothing are Clim8,Under Armour , Athos, viewing and use of data. While transmitting data, the MAC
Jabil etc . Clim8 ‘s technology provides thermoregulation address of the devices is fixed and a simple data format such
to its customers by means of digital automation in smart as JSON is used to transfer data or images and this process
clothing. By wearing the smart apparels users can track their lacks multiple encrypted data blurring measures. Careful
thermal needs and system can keep the user in optimal thermal attention is required while storing big data and provenance,
comfort level. specifically when terabytes of health data are expected to be
generated over a patient’s lifetime.
A smart business suit designed by Samsung can
exchange digital business cards. Another smart apparel  Potential Health Problems
company Under Armour operates a digital fitness app called Continuous wearing of these wearable devices especially
‘Map MyFitness’. Smart apparels of Athos read the body's in case of bedridden/elderly people can cause health issues as
vital signs and transmits that information to a software these devices completely rely on Wi-Fi networks or similar
application. This enables athletes and coaches to get actionable technologies. As these devices passes the user’s bio signals
insights regarding athletic training and movement quality over a network to a monitoring console ,certain radiations
using personalized, muscle activity data. Thus this smart would be emitted .These radiations may adversely affect the
apparel is ideal for work out sessions. user and thereby the wearable devices industry itself.

Smart sleepwear: An athlete recovery smart sleepwear  Data Security

produced by ‘Under Armour’ absorbs heat from the Data security is a key factor that should be considered
individuals body while releasing infrared light to increase while dealing with wearable devices. Unfortunately a lot of
gradually sleep quality and improve faster muscle recovery. issues like eavesdropping attack and spyware, Wi-Fi hijacking
, Phishing etc poses roadblock in transparency of wearable
Smart activewear: A PoloTech T-Shirt from Ralph networks. As an example , BTLE (Bluetooth Low Energy)
Lauren interact with an app to record fitness related activities technology leaks happened in ‘Fitbit’ Devices which
and suggest new workouts to the users. compromised user security.

IV. CHALLENGES IN WEARABLE DEVICES  Fashion

INDUSTRY Some sections of the society, particularly youth are
treating wearable devices as fashion accessories. Smart
New developments in the fields of semiconductor watches and googles are todays trend. As the interests of the
technology and electronics has triggered the growth of people constantly changes ,the wearable devices industry
wearable devices. A wearable device has sensors, power should cope up with their changing needs.
source, data processing units, actuators and displays and a
communication interface packaged together in a small and V. CONCLUSION
lightweight device that is worn on human body or it can be
integrated with everyday wearable items ( clothing, footwear, Wearable devices has evolved a lot in upgrading the
accessories). Wearable device should be designed to provide life quality of various sections of people. Various sensors ,its
the user with highest performance , for less power , small space location of placement ,applications and currently available
and most challenging environment. The various challenges wearable devices in which sensors are integrated are
that encounter in wearable devices industries may be summarized in a tabular format.. The paper also encloses the
possibilities of smart clothing technology ,which is one of the
booming areas of wearable sensor Technology. It also

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Volume 7, Issue 7, July – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
discusses the various challenges encountered in wearable
devices industry.

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