Title :
Smart Garment to Help Children Improve Posture
Author :
Lou, E. ; Moreau, M.J. ; Hill, D.L. ; Raso, V.J. ; Mahood, J.K.
Author_Institution :
Capital Health, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hosp., Edmonton, Alta.
fDate :
Aug. 30 2006-Sept. 3 2006
Abstract :
Many of the aches and pains of adults are the result not of injuries, but of the long-term effects of distortions in posture or alignment. Postural kyphosis in adolescence may be one of the effects of poor standing and sitting habits. Kyphosis is an excessive rounding of the upper spine. A smart garment that can monitor and provide vibration feedback to children has been developed to investigate an alternative treatment possibility. Laboratory tests verified that the accuracy of the system was plusmn2deg within the full 180deg range. A clinical trial has been conducted and it showed that the system can aid subjects to improve by 20% the proportion of time in a more balanced posture. The long term effect is still under investigation
Keywords :
biomechanics; clothing; feedback; intelligent sensors; mechanoception; medical computing; medical control systems; patient monitoring; vibrations; balanced posture; long-term effects; postural kyphosis; sitting habits; smart garment; standing habits; upper spine; vibration feedback; Back; Capacitive sensors; Cities and towns; Clothing; Diseases; Injuries; Medical treatment; Muscles; Pain; Pediatrics;
Conference_Titel :
Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2006. EMBS '06. 28th Annual International Conference of the IEEE
Conference_Location :
New York, NY
Print_ISBN :
1-4244-0032-5
Electronic_ISBN :
1557-170X
DOI :
10.1109/IEMBS.2006.259585
