E-Textiles (Electronics Textiles) Come of Age

As we continue to test, refine and progress with the implementation of AI into our ERP product, it’s clear that tech is now making its way into every area of fashion.

And it’s speeding up.

One of the most inspiring things we’ve seen recently has come from the University of Southampton in Hampshire. Professor Kai Yang is stitching life-changing tech into everyday clothes to help sufferers of a wide range of conditions including stroke, osteoarthritis, and injury patients.

When individuals suffer from serious conditions like these, mobility gets restricted and further muscle wastage occurs causing further weakening and immobility. It becomes a vicious circle. Typically, the sufferer loses their independence and either has to reply on a mobility aid or get help from another person.

What Southampton University researchers are investigating is whether textiles can stimulate nerve and muscle response and actually reinvigorate these weakened areas.

It’s been a team effort by electronics, sustainability, and textiles researchers – all coordinated by Professor Yang at the University’s E-textile Innovation Lab – and early results have looked promising.

In a trial, two osteoarthritis sufferers said the e-textile knee-sleeve allowed them to walk their dogs without pain for the first time in years. An early glove prototype tested with a stroke survivor through the charity Different Strokes was described by the patient as “life-changing”.

“It means I can move my hand – something I’ve been unable to do for eight years”, said stroke survivor Dave Lea.

Professor Yang believes the future of e-textiles is wearable technology that looks no different to normal clothes, saying, “People don’t want to be labelled as disabled; they want to be seen as a person. The stigma associated with traditional medical devices could be overcome with functional textiles that look just like normal clothing items. Our big focus is co-design with end users for comfort, ease of use, and aesthetic.”

We wholeheartedly agree, and wish them the best of luck.