Samenvatting

In section 1 the problem definition is 5 % of all kids in the Netherlands suffer from dysfunctional breathing (Ludden, Mader, van Rees, & Siering, 2019). The research group S&FT has a project: the WBT. This project focuses on personalised care for children ages 6-12 with breathing disorders by means of a motivating textile wearable. The general problem with the existing prototype is that the technology isn’t well integrated in the textile product.
What needs to be achieved with this research is a comfortable, robust, safe and practical WBT prototype. To allow for sufficient focus and depth needed for the project, this research is aimed specifically at integrating the breathing sensor and the LED-/vibration panel into a textile.
Following this, is section 2 in which necessary information is gathered to start the design process. This happens by means of literature, expert meetings and brainstorm sessions. This gives a clear conclusion on what parameters the product needs to have to fulfil the criteria set in section 1.
The breathing sensors of the WBT should be integrated into the main layer of the vest. This should be done by knitting the body of the vest with 2 conductive tracks; one at the abdominal and one at the breast. The knitted track should have a resistance below at least 13 Ohm, but the lower the better. The size of these tracks should be around 60 CM long and 2 CM wide.
The feedback panel of the WBT should be located behind the main layer of the vest in the abdominal area. The optimal layout for this panel should be in series. It would also be preferable if the textile panel would be somewhat thick and stable to protect the electronics and prevent them from moving too much. The connection points of the electronics should be integrated in the textile by means of knitting with conductive yarn.
Furthermore in section 3 the design refinement is shown. Based on the conclusion in section 2 all the different samples and tests to abide by these set parameters are shown. Different samples were produced until good final samples were attained. These 2 samples and the way they are produced are the conclusion of the design refinement; breathing sensors should be knitted with a width of 1181 needles and 200 rows with conductive yarn and the PurleMiss3x3.Pat structure. The feedback panel works with the LEDs and vibration motors in series on a knitted structure.
In section 4 the 2 sample conclusions of section 3 are combined to make the final prototype of this research. A technical drawing and the final material choice are explained. This prototype satisfies almost all of the design criteria, however some tests were not able to be carried out in this stage of the WBT project.
The most important findings were implemented in smart textile lessons for the future textile experts.