Description:
Summary
Millions of women use
absorbent products to discreetly and successfully manage their continence
needs. However, many women worry
that the product might leak wetness into clothes and furnishings, causing
hygiene problems and more importantly, embarrassment. The Smart underwear is the
only technology available to warn continence pad users that their pad has begun
to leak.
The TACT3 Smart
underwear is specially designed underwear with an integral sensor that allows
the garment to be worn and washed normally. A removable electronic signalling
unit is attached to the underwear and if any leakage of liquid from the
absorbent product occurs, the unit discreetly vibrates to alert the wearer. This early warning is designed to allow
the wearer to change before wetness spreads beyond the
underwear.
The Smart underwear's
key component is an electro-conductive yarn sensor that is incorporated into the
garment without detriment to the appearance, comfort or washability of the
product. Coupled with a discreet signalling unit that can subtly alert the
wearer to pad leakages the Smart underwear has been shown to help wearers feel
more confident in a range of social situations.
Main
Features
The signalling unit
consists of a single round printed circuit board on which is mounted a
microcontroller, a vibration unit, a coin cell and associated drivers. The device is normally on and in a mode
which uses minimal power (deep sleep mode). It is activated when urine spills over
from the pad, and bridges the gap between conductive pathways sewn into the
specially designed underwear.
Connecting the pathways, activates the signalling unit. When thus activated, the microcontroller
begins a sequence to energize the vibration unit. This vibration alerts the wearer of the
underwear to the overflow of urine from the pad.
Applications:
- Provides confidence
and assurance for women who are concerned about continence pad
leakage.
- The smart underwear
could also be used by carers to detect pad leakage by the addition of a
transmitter. This version would
be for night-time use by people with profound learning disability, or by older
people in residential care. This would relieve carers of the work of checking
beds for wetness, and ensure a more peaceful night for
residents
Developmental
Status
Working prototypes
extensively tested by end users
Availability
Demonstration of
system available
IP
Status
Available for licensing (UK Design
Registration)
Technical
The signalling unit is connected via press studs,
to the underwear and two parallel conductive pathways embroidered into the
underwear, which act as the sensor. The pathways are isolated from the skin by a
fabric layer. When urine leaks from the user's pad into the underwear fabric,
electrical contact is made between the two pathways, triggering the signalling
unit to activate. The embroidered sensor acts as a switch, which is closed by
the leaked urine. No current flows
through the conductive pathways until urine makes an electrically conductive
bridge between them. When this happens, 10μA flows through the
conductive pathways. This extremely low current is sufficient to trigger the
electronics, but is significantly below the minimum human detectable
limit of 1mA. The presence of the
current flowing through this device is therefore imperceptible to the wearer.
The remainder of the electronics is encapsulated in a sealed enclosure and is
isolated from the wearer.
When the system activates, it runs two brief series
of vibrations during which it vibrates three times, each vibration burst being
for 500ms, with a gap of 1s. The system then waits for 30 seconds and
re-interrogates the sensor. If there is still contact between the conductive
pathways, the system switches back into deep sleep mode and is not reactivated
until the system is disconnected from the wet underwear and there is no longer
electrical connection between the two contacts. The system is powered by a
non-rechargeable 3V Lithium coin cell and its overall dimensions are
(44x11)mm.