Although we’ve seen various shirts for measuring biometrics in the sports and fitness industries, it appears aerospace is another use. The Canadian Space Agency is currently working with Carré Technologies, creator of Astroskin, according to Mother Nature Network.
Astroskin, a prototype device to monitor astronaut health, is a garment that fits over a person’s upper body and is embedded with wireless sensors. From the ground, doctors can see an astronaut’s vital signs, as well as how well the spacefarers are sleeping and how they are moving.
The shirt needs rigorous testing to ensure that it is space ready, so arrangements have been made to test the product in Antarctica.
Crew members of the the XPAntarctik expedition, while spending 45 days in a previously unexplored region of the continent, are beaming their medical information back to civilization while wearing Astroskin. The expedition, which kicked off on Feb. 2, is quite a workout for the eight-person team, which has vowed to use no motorized vehicles. This means the suit is getting tested during skiing, walking and climbing Antarctica’s jagged peaks and glaciers.
This video not only shares information about the use of the shirt, but also shows some of the extreme locations that astronauts use for their playground.
Although this shirt is well suited for astronauts, it also has uses for other communities — telemedicine.
“The great thing about this technology is since it’s wireless, it can be monitored at a distance,” CSA chief medical officer Raffi Kuyumijian said in a new video released by the agency. “People who live in remote communities, for example, will have an easy access to a doctor,” Kuyumijian added. “They can have these shirts on them all the time. It can trigger alarms if something wrong is happening, and alert the doctors following at a distance.”
At some point, we all have a cardio check-up with messy gel and stick-on sensors. It’s no wonder that shirts are becoming the next great solution. Perhaps in the future we will have embedded technology transmitting this data to our doctors. In the meantime, you can have your own biometric fun with our heart rate badge.
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