Institute For The Future

Smart Underwear May Prevent Ulcers

 

 

Underwear doesn't seem like the sort of product that really needs to be made "smart." For those with spinal cord injuries, however, a new prototype from Canadian researchers could dramatically improve their health by using sensors to measure body functions and smartly stimulating muscles by delivering mild electrical currents to paralyzed muscles in order to prevent ulcers and other similar problems.

 

 

 

 

Here's how they work:

 

 

 

They will be equipped with sensors that detect increased pressure and lack of oxygen in the buttocks muscles of people bound to a wheelchair.

When the pressure gets to a certain level, the electric undies will emit a jolt of electricity for seven to 13 seconds that will clench the muscles as in exercise and recirculate the blood.

 

While ulcers and bedsores sound relatively benign, they are common among those with spinal cord injuries and can be deadly. Nurses try to prevent these sorts of problems by turning patients, but the hope is the smart underwear will be more effective at preventing these sorts of problems.