Smart children’s clothing trains breathing

Presenter John Williams asked the whole of the whole Netherlands to think about the future of our country. The project team wants to help children with dysfunctional breathing patterns with the portable breathing trainer (the winning project) to improve their breathing technique in a fun way, at home.

Respiration can be measured using sensors and robotic textiles, and motivational feedback for the children will follow immediately. The lights on the vest will light up after the daily training. The better the training went, the more lights will turn on. These lights then form an energy source for a smartphone game, which allows the children to achieve their goals in a fun way.

Asthma and dysfunctional breathing are common causes of shortness of breath in children. At-home breathing training can make children less anxious. The breathing trainer, therefore, facilitates immediate therapeutic support.

In a multidisciplinary team of scientists, doctors and designers, this project investigates how a portable breathing trainer can measure breathing parameters. Which sensors are suitable for integration into a garment and provide useful measurement results? And how can the device motivate the child to do breathing exercises? When should the garment provide feedback, and can a mobile application make exercising more fun?

The prototypes have been evaluated by children and experts. Ten children made their version of the garment in a designing session. A study on sensors provided information about accuracy. Tests with a new way of making the garment pressurised were also conducted. New prototypes are now being developed.

The research is relevant for children, and they are directly involved in making the end-result an optimal match to their perception of the world. Children learn by doing. The tests take place with a multidisciplinary team of doctors, scientists and designers. They show you can achieve valuable (knowledge)developments by combining expertise.

The research is in full swing: results can be seen in the form of prototypes and evaluations. In the coming months, a working prototype for children to try out will follow.

This project is a collaboration between the University of Twente, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, MST, ZGT, OCON, Hellen van Rees and Ben Bulsink, with support from Pioneers in Healthcare and Creative Industries Fund NL.