Maryland-based integrated smart textile systems Sensatex, Inc. will soon begin field trials of its patented SmartShirt System, a seamless shirt designed to monitor an individual’s heart rate, respiration and movement wirelessly and remotely. These tests are the final step before the product becomes commercially available.

The SmartShirt collects physiological signals from the wearer’s body which are converted to digital signals using a small personal controller and sent wirelessly to a base station through wireless technology.

Potential test applications include first responders, military personnel, people with sleep apnea, the homebound elderly, post-operative patients, truckers, and patients undergoing physical rehabilitation. It will be tested in a variety of environments including indoors, outdoors, and underwater, as well as in very dry and very humid conditions.

CEO Robert Kalik said, “The field testing will provide us with valuable data to address current challenges in a range of settings, and give us information to develop important new products.” He mentioned sleepwear for infants that will monitor for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome as one possible future development.