Smart textiles or E-textiles are textiles that incorporate the functionality of a computer. E-textiles are designed for both comfort-ability and functionality. They consist of conductive fibers and electronic elements that are woven into traditional fabric. These electronic elements can include antennas, fiber optics biomedical sensors etc. The biggest future market for smart textiles is most likely going to be home healthcare.

Smart textiles have the ability to change the way healthcare providers interact with their patients. Smart clothing and blankets with monitoring sensors woven into them will allow healthcare providers to monitor patient care in dramatic new ways. These devices will allow home healthcare providers to produce massive amount of real time patient information, The recent rise of AI will leads to the potential to turn this real time data into real time decision making. Warning signs will pop up hours before they become 5 alarm fires and Providers will quickly treat rising fevers and signs of shock before a patient its in the thick of it.

This would allow for patients to be monitored by healthcare providers as they go about their daily lives which can ultimately reduce the amount of hospital visits for the patient. Some current smart clothing includes gloves with sensors, socks that have thin blood pressure sensors, and wearable smart products that can monitor stress. They can interact with both the environment and the user while communicating real time data about the user to other devices. E-textiles are the future of home-based health monitoring because they can provide a comfortable and safe environment for home health-care and disease prevention.

Benefits of Smart textiles

• Can detect early warning signs that indicate disease
• Can be used in a professional medical setting or can be used to monitor personal health
• Telemedicine- allows for a doctor to monitor a patient without being with them
• GPS tracking in e-textiles can be used to track senior family members suffering from Dementia or Alzheimer’s

As e-textiles continue to evolve, their impact on healthcare is expected to grow, offering innovative solutions for patient care, monitoring, and the overall enhancement of health and well-being. The seamless integration of technology into fabric heralds a new era in medical textiles, where comfort, functionality, and patient care converge to support a healthier future.