Sensory baby vest – a high-tech life-saving product

In cooperation with partners from the textile industry and the University of Tübingen, ITV Denkendorf has developed a baby vest for the comfortable and invisible monitoring of vital functions.

When entering an intensive care unit, visitors will soon realise that the monitoring of vital functions is a highly complex task. Processes from the acquisition of data, to their processing, interpretation and presentation in an easy to understand way require the integration of several different technologies. In order to achieve all that, such products integrate know-how from bio- and medical technology, process engineering, electronics and IT.

Sensory baby vest for the comfortable and invisible monitoring of vital functions.

At the ITV Denkendorf, an interdisciplinary team of researchers has been developing a special vest for babies. The sensory baby vest is equipped with sensors that enable the constant monitoring of vital functions. It is hoped to use this vest to prevent cot death and other life-threatening situations in babies.

The sensors are attached in a way that they do not pinch or disturb the baby when it is sleeping. Co-developer Hansjürgen Horter from the ITV was so convinced about the comfort of the baby vest that he used his own son to test the new system. As the photo shows, the little boy was quite happy with the new vest.

Safety and complacency are not contradictory

The appearance and handling of the sensory vest have also convinced care personnel and parents. “In fact it is a normal baby jump-suit. It can be washed and our skin compatibility tests have not shown any biological reaction to the textile of sensor materials,” said Horter. The technology is integrated into the textile structure and is therefore invisible from the outside. The unattractive vision of wired babies is thus avoided.

The sensory baby vest was initially developed for sick children and for those who are at particular health or life risk. In the long-term, it is planned to broaden the application range of the vest. Horter explained: “We regard the system as basic technology that can be used both in clinical conditions as well as in perfectly normal children’s rooms at home. It is also feasible for use with adults. Integrated into underwear, the system can, at least in principle, pick up vital parameters such as heart rate, skin temperature, breathing and amount of sweating.”

Sensory baby vest – open and closed.

Horter is coordinating the project at the ITV in cooperation with his colleague Carsten Linti. The two engineers can rely on many years of experience whose foundations were laid by the current institute director, Prof. Dr. Heinrich Planck, who established the area of biomedical engineering at the ITV in the 1970s. Planck himself also contributed significantly to the concept of the sensory baby vest.

Planck’s team exploits to the maximum the synergistic effects at the ITV. The natural scientists at the ITV contributed their knowledge to the project, as did textile engineers, process engineers, mechanical engineers, cybernetics experts and computer specialists. The scientists also keep in mind the broad application of their sensor technology, which also requires interdisciplinary knowledge and cooperation. For this reason, the ITV is also cooperating with other institutes and companies.

Josef Kanz GmbH is an important partner in the project. The children’s clothing manufacturer lent its experience and knowledge to the manufacture of the textile body of the baby vests. The company Gütermann provided conductive thread, as the signal transducers need to be insulated. This sounds quite trivial but is associated with several problems and intensive work was required to solve the problems so that weaving machines were able to process the material and the signal transducing threads.

Innovative and cheap

After three years of research, funded by the Industrieforschung foundation, the scientists succeeded in developing a prototype, which was awarded the Avantex Innovation Price in 2005. Ongoing clinical investigations will lead to the optimisation of the system and prepare it for specific use in hospitals. In these preparations, the ITV developers are cooperating closely with physicians at the University Children’s Hospital in Tübingen.

Horter estimates that the first sensory baby vests will be on the market within the next two years. The products – be they for use in hospitals or by private customers – will be marketed by the company Kanz, which is another partner in the project. The ITV itself is part of the sales and marketing team. The project partners are currently working hard on being able to sell the system as cheaply as possible. “For private use, the cost of the entire system, i.e. sensory baby vest plus monitoring and alarm device, will most likely amount to several hundred euros.


leh - 20th April 2006
© BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH

Further information:
ITV - Institute of Textile Technology and Process Engineering Denkendorf
Dipl.-Ing. Hansjürgen Horter
Körschtalstraße 26
73770 Denkendorf
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]