GB2599671A

GB2599671A - Method and system for measuring and displaying biosignal data to a wearer of a wearable article

Info

Publication number: GB2599671A
Application number: GB2015950.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Lynch Michael
Original assignee: Prevayl Innovations Ltd
Current assignee: Prevayl Innovations Ltd
Priority date: 2020-10-08
Filing date: 2020-10-08
Publication date: 2022-04-13
Also published as: GB202015950D0

Abstract

The invention provides a wearable device to obtain and display bio signal data to a user based on their activity level context (such as running). It comprises better signal processing when a lot of signal noise is being generated and this provides a displayed trace that appears to be relatively noise-free and better understood by the wearer. An electronics module receives biosignals such as electrocardiogram (ECG) signals from sensors on a wearable article and determines whether the activity level is above or below a predetermined level. It displays a first representation of the data (e.g. real-time) on the device when the determined activity level is low (i.e. the quality of the signal is high).When the determined activity level is high (e.g. the signal quality is low), the device displays a second representation comprising a composite of the first representation modified using characteristics obtained from the biosignal data.

Description

Intellectual Property Office Application No G132015950.5 RTM Date:8 April 2021 The following terms are registered trade marks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document: Zigbee Thread ANT Galileo M atlab Python Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.gov.uk/ipo

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MEASURING AND DISPLAYING BIOSIGNAL DATA TO A WEARER OF A WEARABLE ARTICLE

The present invention is directed towards a system comprising an electronics module, a wearable article in the form of a garment, and a user electronic device communicatively coupled to the electronics module. More particularly, the wearable article comprises a biosignal measuring apparatus for sensing biosignals from a wearer of the wearable article, and which incorporates a sensor assembly and the electronics module. The electronics module is arranged to transmit biosignal data to the user electronics module or other remote device. The present invention is also directed towards a controller for an electronics module and a wearable article incorporating an electronics module

Background

Wearable articles, such as garments, incorporating sensors are wearable electronics used to measure and collect information from a wearer. Such wearable articles are commonly referred to as 'smart clothing'. It is advantageous to measure biosignals of the wearer during exercise, or other scenarios.

It is known to provide a garment, or other wearable article, to which an electronic device (i.e. an electronic module, and/or related components) is attached in a prominent position, such as on the chest or between the shoulder blades. Advantageously, the electronic device is a detachable device. The electronic device is configured to process the incoming signals, and the output from the processing is stored and/or displayed to a user in a suitable way.

A sensor senses a biosignal such as electrocardiogram (ECG) signals and the biosignals are coupled to the electronic device, via an interface.

The sensors may be coupled to the interface by means of conductors which are connected to terminals provided on the interface to enable coupling of the signals from the sensor to the interface.

Electronics modules for wearable articles such as garments are known to communicate with user electronic devices over wireless communication protocols such as Bluetooth 0 and Bluetooth Low Energy. These electronics modules are typically removably attached to the wearable article, interface with internal electronics of the wearable article, and comprise a Bluetooth 0 antenna for communicating with the user electronic device.

The electronic device includes drive and sensing electronics comprising components and associated circuitry, to provide the required functionality.

The drive and sensing electronics include a power source to power the electronic device and the associated components of the drive and sensing circuitry.

ECG sensing is used to provide a plethora of information about a person's heart. It is one of the simplest and oldest techniques used to perform cardiac investigations. In its most basic form, it provides an insight into the electrical activity generated within heart muscles that changes over time. By detecting and amplifying these differential biopotential signals, a lot of information can be gathered quickly, including the heart rate. Among professional medical staff, individual signals have names such as "the ORS complex," which is the largest part of an ECG signal and is a collection of Q, R, and S signals, including the P and T waves.

Whilst lay persons may not be aware of the clinical aspects and significance of an ECG signal trace, lay persons would usually recognise the general form of such a signal trace, if only as a measure of heart rate.

Typically, the detected ECG signals can be displayed as a trace to a user for information. The user may be a clinician who is looking to assess cardiac health or may be a lay user using the electronics module has a fitness or health and wellness assessment device. A typical ECG waveform or trace 800 is illustrated in Figure 1 showing the ORS complex.

The trace can be displayed on a user electronic device such as a mobile phone.

The quality of the signal and any displayed signal trace can be impacted by a variety of constraints.

Sensors that are used to measure, for example, ECG signals and make contact with skin may be of wet or dry type. Typically, for clinical use, they are wet electrodes that use a composition of a watery polymerized hydrogel and adhere to the body. In non-clinical applications, the electrodes are usually dry. Electrodes are typically two sensors integrated or fixed to into an elasticated and conductive material that connects to a set of drive electronics. Any electrode requires a good connection to the body to provide a reliable signal of sufficient amplitude for detection.

Electrode size and material characteristics also influence the signal quality and levels detected.

If sending ECG signals during exercise, as the body moves during exercise there are several factors that can interfere with signal quality. For example, the simple motion of a body running or cycling, the movement of clothes hitting the body and/or the chest strap, and the movement of the electrodes all result in interference to the ECG signal. Removing such interference from these motion artefacts is essential if the ECG signal quality is to be maintained.

When a trace is displayed to a user noise is also displayed and a very noisy ECG signal gives rise to a displayed signal trace that can look 'noisy' to a user and, in particular, a lay user. This noisy signal trace may give the wrong impression that the electronics module is not functioning as they feel it should.

During running, movement of the sensors across the wearer's body generates noise.. If the user is looking at the user electronic device during running, it may be difficult to determine at a glance any usable feedback.

Such noisy signals can make it difficult for the human eye to visually determine the PQRST wave. This could also prove problematic in a training session where a signal traces from multiple users is being displayed on a single user electronic device.

To address this problem, it is known to heavily filter the ECG signal to provide a visually clean signal to the user. However, heavy filtering can give rise to the loss of some tangible data depending on the person being monitored. Filtering takes time and there will be buffering of the data such that a wearer may well not be viewing the trace in real time which -again -can give rise to a negative user experience.

A "clean" ECG signal is one in which the signal to noise ratio is such that the QRS complex is discernible by a user.

Many electronics modules will eventually lose the signal altogether if the user is running, at which point the signal trace is illegible. If a user were to be looking at their user electronic device during this time, they might infer that the electronics module is not functionality correctly, or it may fear that that their heart is not functioning correctly under load.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved method and system for measuring and displaying biosignal data to a wearer of a wearable article and in particular a user electronic device for a wearable article so as to provide for a better user experience to the extent that a visual representation of the biosignal appears discernible and with context.

Summary

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer-implemented method. The method comprises obtaining biosignal data for the wearer of a wearable article.

The method comprises generating and displaying a first representation of the obtained biosignal data. The method comprises generating and displaying a second representation of the biosignal data, the second representation comprising a composite of the first representation modified using one or more characteristics obtained from the biosignal data.

The method may further comprise; obtaining activity data; determining an activity level for a wearer of the wearable article from the obtained activity data; determining if the activity level is above or below a predetermined threshold and, when the activity level is below the predetermined threshold, storing data representative of the obtained biosignal data and generating and displaying a first representation of the obtained biosignal data and, when the determined activity level is above the predetermined activity threshold, generating and displaying a second representation of the biosignal data, the second representation comprising a composite of the first representation modified using one or more characteristics obtained from the biosignal data obtained when the activity level is below the predetermined threshold.

The activity data may be obtained from an electronics module. Alternatively, activity data may be obtained from a user electronic device.

Obtaining activity may comprise obtaining motion data for the wearer of the wearable article.

Alternatively, obtaining activity data comprises obtaining orientation data for the wearer of the wearable article.

The biosignal data may be ECG data and the first and second representations may be ECG traces. Alternatively, the biosignal data may be heart rate data, respiration data, electromyography data, core temperature data or any other biosignal data.

The second representation may comprise the ECG trace of the first representation and the characteristic used to modify the first representation may be an R-R peak value determined from the biosignal data obtained when the biosignal data quality is below the predetermined threshold.

The method may be performed by a controller for a user electronic device, the user electronic device further including an interface, coupled to the controller, and arranged to receive signals from an electronics module for a wearable article.

In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device comprising a controller, a display, and a memory. The controller is arranged to receive signals from a wearable article, wherein the controller is configured to obtain biosignal data for a wearer of the wearable article. The controller is further configured to generate and display a first representation of the obtained biosignal data. The controller is further configured to generate and display a second representation of the biosignal data, the second representation comprising a composite of the first representation modified using one or more characteristics obtained from the biosignal data obtained when the biosignal data quality is below the predetermined threshold.

The controller may be further configured to; obtain activity data; to determine an activity level for a wearer of the wearable article from the obtained activity data; to determine if the activity level is above or below a predetermined threshold and, when the activity level is below the predetermined threshold, to store data representative of the obtained biosignal data in the memory and to generate and display a first representation of the obtained biosignal data on the display and, when the determined activity level is above the predetermined activity threshold, to generate and display a second representation of the biosignal data on the display, the second representation comprising a composite of the first representation modified using one or more characteristics obtained from the biosignal data obtained when the activity level is below the predetermined threshold.

The controller may be configured to obtain activity data from an electronics module for the wearable article and to determine the activity level from the activity data obtained from the electronics module.

The electronic device may further include an inertial measurement unit, wherein the controller is configured to obtain activity data from the motion detection unit and to determine the activity level from the activity data from the inertial measurement unit.

The activity data may comprise motion data for the wearer of the wearable article. Alternatively, the activity data may comprise orientation data for the wearer of the wearable article.

The biosignal data may be ECG data and the first and second representations may be ECG 10 traces. Alternatively, the biosignal data may be heart rate data, respiration data, electromyography data, core temperature data or any other biosignal data.

The second representation may comprise the ECG trace of the first representation and the characteristic used to modify the first representation is an R-R peak value determined from the biosignal data obtained when the biosignal data quality is below the predetermined threshold.

The electronic device may be a user electronic device. The user electronic device may further comprise an interface, coupled to the controller, and arranged to receive signals from an electronics module for a wearable article.

In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a controller for an electronic device for a user electronic device according to the second aspect of the invention.

In a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a system comprising a wearable article including an electronics module, and a user electronic device according to the second aspect of the invention and arranged to be communicatively coupled to the electronics module.

In a fifth aspect of the invention, there is provided a computer-implemented method. The method comprises: obtaining biosignal data for the wearer of the wearable article from the electronics module. The method further comprises determining if the quality of the obtained biosignal data is above or below a predetermined quality threshold and, when the obtained biosignal data quality is above the predetermined quality threshold, storing data representative of the obtained biosignal data and generating and displaying a first representation of the obtained biosignal data. When the obtained biosignal data quality is below the predetermined quality threshold, the method comprises generating and displaying a second representation of the biosignal data, the second representation comprising a composite of the first representation modified using one or more characteristics obtained from the biosignal data obtained when the biosignal data quality is below the predetermined threshold.

The stored data representative of the obtained biosignal data may comprise a set of data points and the first representation is derived from the set of data points.

Determining the quality of the biosignal data may comprise: obtaining activity data; determining an activity level for a wearer of the wearable article in response to the obtained activity data; and determining if the activity level is above or below a predetermined activity level threshold, the quality of the biosignal data being determined to be above the predetermined quality threshold when the activity level is below the predetermined activity threshold, and below the predetermined quality threshold when the activity level is above the predetermined activity threshold.

The activity data may be obtained from an electronics module for a wearable article. Alternatively, the activity data may be obtained from a user electronic device arranged to receive signals from an electronics module for a wearable article.

Obtaining the activity data may comprise obtaining motion data for the wearer of the wearable article. Alternatively, the obtained activity data may comprise obtaining orientation data for the wearer of the wearable article.

Determining the quality of the biosignal data may comprise processing raw obtained biosignal data.

The second representation may comprise the ECG trace of the first representation and the characteristic used to modify the first representation may be a determined R-R peak value determined from the biosignal data obtained when the biosignal data quality is below the predetermined threshold.

In a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device comprising a controller, a display, and a the controller being arranged to receive signals from an electronics module for a wearable article, wherein the controller is configured to: obtain biosignal data for a wearer of a wearable article; determine if the quality of the obtained biosignal data is above or below a predetermined quality threshold. When the obtained biosignal data quality is above the predetermined quality threshold, the controller is configured to store data representative of the obtained biosignal data in the memory, and to generate and display on the display a first representation of the obtained biosignal data. When the obtained biosignal data quality is below the predetermined quality threshold, the controller is configured to generate and display on the display a second representation of the biosignal data, the second representation comprising a composite of the first representation modified using one or more characteristics obtained from the biosignal data obtained when the biosignal data quality is below the predetermined threshold.

The stored data representative of the obtained biosignal data may comprise a set of data points and the controller is configured to derive the first representation from the set of data points.

The controller may be configured to: obtain activity data for the wearer of the wearable article; to determine an activity level for a wearer of the wearable article in response to the obtained activity data; to determine if the activity level is above or below a predetermined activity level threshold, the quality of the biosignal data being determined to be above the predetermined quality threshold when the activity level is below the predetermined activity threshold, and below the predetermined quality threshold when the activity level is above the predetermined activity threshold.

The controller may be configured to obtain the activity data from an electronics module for the wearable article and to determine the activity level from the activity data obtained from the electronics module. The electronics module may be a mobile electronics device.

The electronic device may further include an inertial measurement unit whereby the controller is configured to obtain activity data from the inertial measurement unit and to determine the activity data from the activity data from the inertial measurement unit.

The controller may be configured to determine the quality of the biosignal data comprises processing raw obtained biosignal data.

The second representation may comprise the ECG trace of the first representation modified by a R-R peak value determined from the biosignal data obtained when the biosignal data quality is below the predetermined threshold.

In a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided controller for the electronic device of the sixth aspect.

In an eight aspect of the invention, there is provided a system comprising a wearable article including an electronics module, and a user electronic device of the sixth aspect and arranged to be communicatively coupled to the electronics module.

According to a ninth aspect of the invention, there is provided an electronics module for a wearable article comprising a controller, and a memory, a motion detection unit, an interface,

B

and a communicator coupled to the controller, the controller being configured to receive biosignal data from sensing units on the wearable article via the interface and configured to transmit the biosignal data via the communicator to remote device and wherein the controller is further configured to receive motion data from the motion detection unit; to determine an activity level for the wearer of the wearable article from the motion data, and to transmit the determined activity level to the remote device.

The determined activity level may be classified into discrete levels of activity and the activity classification is transmitted to the remote device.

According to a tenth aspect of the invention, there is provided a method performed by a controller for an electronics module for a wearable article, the electronics module further comprising a memory, a motion detection unit, an interface, and a communicator coupled to the controller, wherein the method comprises: receiving biosignal data from sensing units on the wearable article via the interface; transmitting the biosignal data via the communicator to remote; receiving motion data from the motion detection unit; determining an activity level for the wearer of the wearable article from the motion data; and transmitting the determined activity level to the remote device.

Determining the activity level may comprise classifying the activity level into discrete levels of activity and the activity classification may be transmitted to the remote device.

The present invention provides an improved method and system for measuring and displaying biosignal data of a wearer of a wearable article, In particular, the invention provides a user electronic device for a wearable article that displays a visual representation of the biosignal of the wearer, such as an ECG signal trace, to a user, such as the wearer of the wearable article. The visual representation is understandable to a user, for example during periods where the signal may be noisy and exhibits characteristics of the wearer. This provides for a better user experience to the wearer because the visual indication appears discernible and understandable and with context.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Examples of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates a signal trace for an ECG signal; Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram for an example system according to aspects of the present disclosure; Figure 3 illustrates a user electronic device displaying an ECG signal trace; Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram for an example electronics module according to aspects of

the present disclosure;

Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram for another example electronics module according to aspects of the present disclosure; Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram for an example analogue-to-digital converter used in the example electronics module of Figures 4 and 5 according to aspects of the present disclosure, Figure 7 shows a detailed schematic diagram of the components of an example user electronics device according to aspects of the present disclosure; Figure 8 shows a flow diagram for an example method according to aspects of the present disclosure; Figure 9 shows a flow diagram for a second example method according to aspects of the present

disclosure;

Figure 10 shows a flow diagram for a third example method according to aspects of the present disclosure; Figure 11 shows a flow diagram for a fourth example method according to aspects of the present disclosure; and Figure 12 shows a flow diagram for a fifth example method according to aspects of the present

disclosure.

Detailed Description

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings but are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

"Wearable article" as referred to throughout the present disclosure may refer to any form of device interface which may be wom by a user such as a smart watch, necklace, garment, bracelet, or glasses. The wearable article may be a textile article. The wearable article may be a garment. The garment may refer to an item of clothing or apparel. The garment may be a top. The top may be a shirt, t-shirt, blouse, sweater, jacket/coat, or vest. The garment may be a dress, garment brassiere, shorts, pants, arm or leg sleeve, vest, jacket/coat, glove, armband, underwear, headband, hat/cap, collar, wristband, stocking, sock, or shoe, athletic clothing, personal protective equipment, including hard hats, swimwear, wetsuit or dry suit.

The term "wearer" includes a user who is wearing, or otherwise holding, the wearable article.

The type of wearable garment may dictate the type of biosignals to be detected. For example, a hat or cap may be used to detect electroencephalogram or magnetoencephalogram signals.

The wearable article/garment may be constructed from a woven or a non-woven material. The wearable article/garment may be constructed from natural fibres, synthetic fibres, or a natural fibre blended with one or more other materials which can be natural or synthetic. The yarn may be cotton. The cotton may be blended with polyester and/or viscose and/or polyamide according to the application. Silk may also be used as the natural fibre. Cellulose, wool, hemp and jute are also natural fibres that may be used in the wearable article/garment. Polyester, polycotton, nylon and viscose are synthetic fibres that may be used in the wearable article/garment.

The garment may be a tight-fitting garment. Beneficially, a tight-fitting garment helps ensure that the sensor devices of the garment are held in contact with or in the proximity of a skin surface of the wearer. The garment may be a compression garment. The garment may be an athletic garment such as an elastomeric athletic garment.

The garment has sensing units provided on an inside surface which are held in close proximity to a skin surface of a wearer wearing the garment. This enables the sensing units to measure biosignals for the wearer wearing the garment.

The sensing units may be arranged to measure one or more biosignals of a wearer wearing the 25 garment.

"Biosignal" as referred to throughout the present disclosure may refer to signals from living beings that can be continually measured or monitored. Biosignals may be electrical or nonelectrical signals. Signal variations can be time variant or spatially variant.

Sensing components may be used for measuring one or a combination of bioelectrical, bioimpedance, biochemical, biomechanical, bioacoustics, biooptical or biothermal signals of the wearer 600. The bioelectrical measurements include electrocardiograms (ECG), electrogastrograms (EGG), electroencephalograms (EEG), and electromyography (EMG). The bioimpedance measurements include plethysmography (e.g., for respiration), body composition (e.g., hydration, fat, etc.), and electroimpedance tomography (Eli). The biomagnetic measurements include magnetoneurograms (MNG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), magnetogastrogram (MGG), magnetocardiogram (MCG). The biochemical measurements include glucose/lactose measurements which may be performed using chemical analysis of the wearer 600's sweat. The biomechanical measurements include blood pressure. The bioacoustics measurements include phonocardiograms (PCG). The biooptical measurements include orthopantomogram (OPG). The biothermal measurements include skin temperature and core body temperature measurements.

Referring to Figures 2 to 7, there is shown an example system 10 according to aspects of the present disclosure. The system 10 comprises an electronics module 100, a wearable article in the form of a garment 200, and a user electronic device 300. The garment 200 is worn by a user who in this embodiment is the wearer 600 of the garment 200.

The electronics module 100 is arranged to integrate with sensing units 400 incorporated into the garment 200 to obtain signals from the sensing units 400.

The electronics module 100 and the wearable article 200 and including the sensing units 400 comprise a wearable assembly 500.

The sensing units 400 comprise one or more sensors 209, 211 with associated conductors 203, 207 and other components and circuitry. The electronics module 100 is further arranged to wirelessly communicate data to the user electronic device 300. Various protocols enable wireless communication between the electronics module 100 and the user electronic device 300.

Example communication protocols include Bluetooth Bluetooth 8 Low Energy, and near-field communication (NFC).

The garment 200 has an electronics module holder in the form of a pocket 201. The pocket 201 is sized to receive the electronics module 100. When disposed in the pocket 201, the electronics module 100 is arranged to receive sensor data from the sensing units 400. The electronics module 100 is therefore removable from the garment 200.

The present disclosure is not limited to electronics module holders in the form pockets.

The electronics module 100 may be configured to be releasably mechanically coupled to the garment 200. The mechanical coupling of the electronic module 100 to the garment 200 may be provided by a mechanical interface such as a clip, a plug and socket arrangement, etc. The mechanical coupling or mechanical interface may be configured to maintain the electronic module 100 in a particular orientation with respect to the garment 200 when the electronic module 100 is coupled to the garment 200. This may be beneficial in ensuring that the electronic module 100 is securely held in place with respect to the garment 200 and/or that any electronic coupling of the electronic module 100 and the garment 200 (or a component of the garment 200) can be optimized. The mechanical coupling may be maintained using friction or using a positively engaging mechanism, for example.

Beneficially, the removable electronic module 100 may contain all the components required for data transmission and processing such that the garment 200 only comprises the sensing units 400 e.g. the sensors 209, 211 and communication pathways 203, 207. In this way, manufacture of the garment 200 may be simplified. In addition, it may be easier to clean a garment 200 which has fewer electronic components attached thereto or incorporated therein. Furthermore, the removable electronic module 100 may be easier to maintain and/or troubleshoot than embedded electronics. The electronic module 100 may comprise flexible electronics such as a flexible printed circuit (FPC).

The electronic module 100 may be configured to be electrically coupled to the garment 200.

Referring to Figure 4, there is shown a schematic diagram of an example of the electronics module 100 of Figure 1.

A more detailed block diagram of the electronics components of electronics module 100 and garment are shown in Figure 5.

The electronics module 100 comprises an interface 101, a controller 103, a power source 105, and one or more communication devices which, in the exemplar embodiment comprises a first antenna 107, a second antenna 109 and a wireless communicator 159. The electronics module 100 also includes an input unit such as a proximity sensor or a motion sensor 111, for example in the form of an inertial measurement unit (IMU).

The electronics module 100 also includes additional peripheral devices that are used to perform specific functions as will be described in further detail herein.

The interface 101 is arranged to communicatively couple with the sensing unit 400 of the garment 200. The sensing unit 400 comprises -in this example -the two sensors 209, 211 coupled to respective first and second electrically conductive pathways 203, 207, each with respective termination points 213, 215. The interface 101 receives signals from the sensors 209, 211. The controller 103 is communicatively coupled to the interface 101 and is arranged to receive the signals from the interface 101 for further processing.

The interface 101 of the embodiment described herein comprises first and second contacts 163, which are arranged to be communicatively coupled to the termination points 213, 215 the respective first and second electrically conductive pathways 203, 207. The coupling between the termination points 213, 215 and the respective first and second contacts 163, 165 may be conductive or a wireless (e.g. inductive) communication coupling.

In this example the sensors 209, 211 are used to measure electropotential signals such as electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, although the sensors 209, 211 could be configured to measure other biosignal types as also discussed above.

In this embodiment, the sensors 209, 211 are configured for so-called dry connection to the wearer's skin to measure ECG signals.

The power source 105 may comprise a plurality of power sources. The power source 105 may be a battery. The battery may be a rechargeable battery. The battery may be a rechargeable battery adapted to be charged wirelessly such as by inductive charging. The power source 105 may comprise an energy harvesting device. The energy harvesting device may be configured to generate electric power signals in response to kinetic events such as kinetic events 10 performed by the wearer 600 of the garment 200. The kinetic event could include walking, running, exercising or respiration of the wearer 600. The energy harvesting material may comprise a piezoelectric material which generates electricity in response to mechanical deformation of the converter. The energy harvesting device may harvest energy from body heat of the wearer 600 of the garment. The energy harvesting device may be a thermoelectric energy harvesting device. The power source 105 may be a super capacitor, or an energy cell.

The first antenna 107 is arranged to communicatively couple with the user electronic device 300 using a first communication protocol. In the example described herein, the first antenna 107 is a passive tag such as a passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag or Near Field Communication (NFC) tag. These tags comprise a communication module as well as a memory which stores the information, and a radio chip. The user electronic device 300 is powered to induce a magnetic field in an antenna of the user electronic device 300. When the user electronic device 300 is placed in the magnetic field of the communication module antenna 107, the user electronic device 300 induces current in the communication module antenna 107. This induced current is used to retrieve the information from the memory of the tag and transmit the same back to the user electronic device 300. The controller 103 is arranged to energize the first antenna 107 to transmit information.

In an example operation, the user electronic device 300 is brought into proximity with the electronics module 100. In response to this, the electronics module 100 is configured to energize the first antenna 107 to transmit information to the user electronic device 300 over the first wireless communication protocol. Beneficially, this means that the act of the user electronic device 300 approaching the electronics module 100 energizes the first antenna 107 to transmit the information to the user electronic device 300.

The information may comprise a unique identifier for the electronics module 100. The unique identifier for the electronics module 100 may be an address for the electronics module 100 such as a MAC address or Bluetooth 0 address.

The information may comprise authentication information used to facilitate the pairing between the electronics module 100 and the user electronic device 300 over the second wireless communication protocol. This means that the transmitted information is used as part of an out of band (00B) pairing process.

The information may comprise application information which may be used by the user electronic device 300 to start an application on the user electronic device 300 or configure an application running on the user electronic device 300. The application may be started on the user electronic device 300 automatically (e.g. without wearer 600 input). Alternatively, the application information may cause the user electronic device 300 to prompt the wearer 600 to start the application on the user electronic device. The information may comprise a uniform resource identifier such as a uniform resource location to be accessed by the user electronic device, or text to be displayed on the user electronic device for example. It will be appreciated that the same electronics module 100 can transmit any of the above example information either alone or in combination. The electronics module 100 may transmit different types of information depending on the current operational state of the electronics module 100 and based on information it receives from other devices such as the user electronic device 300.

The second antenna 109 is arranged to communicatively couple with the user electronic device 300 over a second wireless communication protocol. The second wireless communication protocol may be a Bluetooth ® protocol, Bluetooth 5 or a Bluetooth 0 Low Energy protocol but is not limited to any particular communication protocol. In the present embodiment, the second antenna 109 is integrated into controller 103. The second antenna 109 enables communication between the user electronic device 300 and the controller 100 for configuration and set up of the controller 103 and the peripheral devices as may be required. Configuration of the controller 103 and peripheral devices utilises the Bluetooth 0 protocol.

The wireless communicator 159 may be an alternative, or in addition to, the first and second antennas107, 109.

Other wireless communication protocols can also be used, such as used for communication over: a wireless wide area network (AN), a wireless metro area network (VVMAN), a wireless local area network (VVLAN), a wireless personal area network (WAN), Bluetooth 0 Low Energy, Bluetooth ® Mesh, Thread, Zigbee, IEEE 802.15.4, Ant, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), a cellular communication network, or any other electromagnetic RF communication protocol. The cellular communication network may be a fourth generation (4G) LTE, LTE Advanced (LTE-A), LTE Cat-M1, LTE Cat-M2, NB-IoT, fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G), and/or any other present or future developed cellular wireless network.

The electronics module 100 includes configured a clock unit in the form of a real time clock (RTC) 153 coupled to the controller 103 and, for example, to be used for data logging, clock building, time stamping, timers, and alarms. As an example, the RTC 153 is driven by a low frequency clock source or crystal operated at 32.768 Hz.

The electronics module 100 also includes a location device 161 such as a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) device which is arranged to provide location and position data for applications as required. In particular, the location device 161 provides geographical location data at least to a nation state level. Any device suitable for providing location, navigation or for tracking the position could be utilised. The GNSS device may include device may include Global Positioning System (GPS), BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) and the Galileo system devices.

The power source 105 in this example is a lithium polymer battery 105. The battery 105 is rechargeable and charged via a USB C input 131 of the electronics module 100. Of course, the present disclosure is not limited to recharging via USB and instead other forms of charging such as inductive of far field wireless charging are within the scope of the present disclosure.

Additional battery management functionality is provided in terms of a charge controller 133, battery monitor 135 and regulator 147. These components may be provided through use of a 30 dedicated power management integrated circuit (PMIC).

The USB C input 131 is also coupled to the controller 131 to enable direct communication with the controller 103 with an external device if required.

The controller 103 is communicatively connected to a battery monitor 135 so that that the controller 103 may obtain information about the state of charge of the battery 105.

The controller 103 has an internal memory 167 and is also communicatively connected to an external memory 143 which in this example is a NAND Flash memory. The memory 143 is used to for the storage of data when no wireless connection is available between the electronics module 100 and a user electronic device 300. The memory 143 may have a storage capacity of at least 1GB and preferably at least 2 GB. The electronics module 100 also comprises a temperature sensor 145 and a light emitting diode 147 for conveying status information. The electronic module 100 also comprises conventional electronics components including a power-on-reset generator 149, a development connector 151, the real time clock 153 and a FROG header 155.

Additionally, the electronics module 100 may comprise a haptic feedback unit 157 for providing a haptic (vibrational) feedback to the wearer 600.

The wireless communicator 159 may provide wireless communication capabilities for the garment 200 and enables the garment to communicate via one or more wireless communication protocols to a remote sewer 700. Wireless communications may include: a wireless wide area network (JAN), a wireless metro area network (WMAN), a wireless local area network (VVLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN), Bluetooth Low Energy, Bluetooth Mesh, Bluetooth 0 5, Thread, Zigbee, IEEE 802.15.4, Ant, a near field communication (NFC), a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), a cellular communication network, or any other electromagnetic RF communication protocol. The cellular communication network may be a fourth generation (4G) LTE, LTE Advanced (LTE-A), LTE Cat-M1, LTE Cat-M2, NB-IoT, fifth generation (5G), sixth generation (6G), and/or any other present or future developed cellular wireless network.

The electronics module 100 may additionally comprise a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) that enables the garment to access services provided by a mobile network operator (MNO) or virtual mobile network operator (VMNO). The UICC may include at least a read-only memory (ROM) configured to store an MNO or VMNO profile that the garment can utilize to register and interact with an MNO or VMNO. The UICC may be in the form of a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card. The electronics module 100 may have a receiving section arranged to receive the SIM card. In other examples, the UICC is embedded directly into a controller of the electronics module 100. That is, the UICC may be an electronic/embedded UICC (eUICC).

A eUICC is beneficial as it removes the need to store a number of MNO profiles, i.e. electronic Subscriber Identity Modules (eSIMs). Moreover, eSIMs can be remotely provisioned to garments. The electronics module 100 may comprise a secure element that represents an 35 embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card (eUICC). In the present disclosure, the electronics module may also be referred to as an electronics device or unit. These terms may be used interchangeably.

The controller 103 is connected to the interface 101 via an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) front end 139 and an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit 141.

Figure 6 is a schematic illustration of the component circuitry for the ADC front end 139.

In the example described herein the ADC front end 139 is an integrated circuit (IC) chip which converts the raw analogue biosignal received from the sensors 209,211 into a digital signal for further processing by the controller 103. ADC IC chips are known, and any suitable one can be utilised to provide this functionality. ADC IC chips for ECG applications include, for example, the MAX30003 chip produced by Maxim Integrated Products Inc. The ADC front end 139 includes an input 169 and an output 171.

Raw biosignals from the electrodes 209, 211 are input to the ADC front end 139, where received signals are processed in an ECG channel 175 and subject to appropriate filtering through high pass and low pass filters for static discharge and interference reduction as well as for reducing bandwidth prior to conversion to digital signals. The reduction in bandwidth is important to remove or reduce motion artefacts that give rise to noise in the signal due to movement of the sensors 209, 211.

The output digital signals may be decimated to reduce the sampling rate prior to being passed to a serial programmable interface (SPI) 173 of the ADC front end 139.

ADC front end IC chips suitable for ECG applications may be configured to determine information from the input biosignals such as heart rate and the QRS complex and including the R-R interval. Support circuitry 177 provides base voltages for the ECG channel 175.

The determining of the QRS complex can be implemented for example using the known Pan Tomkins algorithm as described in Pan, Jiapu; Tompkins, Willis J. (March 1985). "A Real-Time QRS Detection Algorithm". IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering. BME-32 (3): 230236.

Signals are output to the controller 103 via the SPI 173.

The controller 103 can also be configured to apply digital signal processing (DSP) to the digital signal from the ADC front end 139.

The DSP may include noise filtering additional to that carried out in the ADC front end 139 and ay also include additional processing to determine further information about the signal from the ADC front end 139.

The controller 103 is configured to send the biosignals to the user electronic device 300 using either of the first antenna 107, second antenna 109, or wireless communicator 159.

In some examples, the input unit -such as a proximity sensor or motion sensor -is arranged to detect a displacement of the electronics module 100. These displacements of the electronics module 100 may be caused by the object being tapped against the electronics module 100 or by the wearer 600 of the electronics module 100 being in motion, for example walking or running, or simply getting up from a recumbent position.

In the exemplar embodiment described herein, motion detection is provided by the IMU 111 which may comprise an accelerometer and optionally one or both of a gyroscope and a magnetometer. A gyroscope/magnetometer is not required in all examples, and instead only an accelerometer may be provided, or a gyroscope/magnetometer may be present but put into a low power state.

The input event could be provided by artificial intelligence (Al) and, as such, the input unit could be an Al system, machine or engine.

The IMU 111 can therefore be used to detect can detect orientation and gestures with event-detection interrupts enabling motion tracking and contextual awareness. It has recognition of free-fall events, tap and double-tap sensing, activity or inactivity, stationary/motion detection, and wakeup events in addition to 6D orientation. A single tap, for example, can be used enable toggling through various modes or waking the electronics module 100 from a low power mode.

Known examples of IMUs that can be used for this application include the ST LSM6DSOX manufactured by STMicroelectronics. This IMU a system-in-package IMU featuring a 3D digital accelerometer and a 3D digital gyroscope.

Another example of a known IMU suitable for this application is the LSM6DSO also be STMicroelectronics.

The IMU 111 can include machine learning functionality, for example as provided in the ST LSM6DSOX. The machine learning functionality is implemented in a machine learning core (MLC).

The machine earning processing capability uses decision-tree logic. The MLC is an embedded feature of the IMU 111 and comprises a set of configurable parameters and decision trees.

As is understood in the art, decision tree is a mathematical tool composed of a series of configurable nodes. Each node is characterized by an "if-then-else" condition, where an input signal (represented by statistical parameters calculated from the sensor data) is evaluated against a threshold.

Decision trees are stored and generate results in the dedicated output registers. The results of the decision tree can be read from the application processor at any time. Furthermore, there is the possibility to generate an interrupt for every change in the result in the decision tree, which is beneficial in maintaining low-power consumption.

Decision trees can be generated using known machine learning tool such as Weka developed by the University of Waikato or using MATLAB or Python. In an example operation, the wearer 600 has positioned the electronics module 100 within the pocket 201 (Figure 1) of the garment 200 and is wearing the garment 200. The wearer 600 taps their hand or mobile phone 300 against the pocket 201 and this tap event is detected by the input unit, which in this exemplar embodiment is the IMU 111. The IMU 111 sends a signal to the controller 103 to wake-up the controller 103 from the low power mode.

A processor of the IMU 111 may perform processing tasks to classify different types of detected motion. The processor of the IMU 111 may use the machine-learning functions so as to perform this classification. Performing the processing operations on the IMU 111 rather than the controller 103 is beneficial as it reduces power consumption and leaves the controller 103 free to perform other tasks. In addition, it allows for motion events to be detected even when the controller 103 is operating in a low power mode.

The IMU 111 may be configured to detect when the electronic device 100 has been stationary but then begins to move, for example when left on a surface but then attached to the garment 200. The IMU 111 may be configured to detect that the wearer 600 of the garment 200, with the electronic device attached, is resting, or is moving, for example during exercise.

The IMU 111 communicates with the controller 103 over a serial protocol such as the Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C), Controller Area Network (CAN), and Recommended Standard 232 (RS-232). Other serial protocols are within the scope of the present disclosure. The IMU 111 is also able to send interrupt signals to the controller 103 when required so as to transition the controller 103 from a low power model to a normal power mode when a motion event is detected, for example, or vice versa. The interrupt signals may be transmitted via one or more dedicated interrupt pins.

The user electronic device 300 in the example of Figures 3 and 7 is in the form of a mobile phone or tablet and comprises a controller 305, a memory 304, a wireless communicator 307, a display 301, a user input unit 306, a capturing device in the form of a camera 303 and an inertial measurement unit (IMU) 309. The controller 305 provides overall control to the user electronic device 300.

The user input unit 306 receives inputs from the user such as a user credential. The memory 304 stores information for the user electronic device 300.

The display 301 is arranged to display a user interface 302 for applications operable on the user electronic device 300.

The IMU 309 provides motion and/or orientation detection and may comprise an accelerometer and optionally one or both of a gyroscope and a magnetometer.

The user electronic device 300 may also include a biometric sensor. The biometric sensor may be used to identify a user or users of device based on unique physiological features. The biometric sensor may be: a fingerprint sensor used to capture an image of a user's fingerprint; an iris scanner or a retina scanner configured to capture an image of a user's iris or retina; an ECG module used to measure the user's ECG; or the camera of the user electronic arranged to capture the face of the user. The biometric sensor may be an internal module of the user electronic device. The biometric module may be an external (stand-alone) device which may be coupled to the user electronic device by a wired or wireless link.

The controller 305 is configured to launch an application which is configured to display insights derived from the biosignal data processed by the ADC front end 139 of the electronics module 100, input to electronics module controller 103, and then transmitted from the electronics module 100. The transmitted data is received by the wireless communicator 307 of the user electronic device 300 and input to the controller 305.

Insights include, but are not limited to, an ECG signal trace i.e. the QRS complex, heart rate, respiration rate, core temperature but can also include identification data for the wearer 600 using the wearable assembly 500.

The display 301 is also configured to display a signal trace 800 as part of the user interface 302, for example an ECG signal trace 800 as illustrated in Figure 3.

The display 301 may be a presence-sensitive display and therefore may comprise the user input unit 306. The presence-sensitive display may include a display component and a presence-sensitive input component. The presence sensitive display may be a touch-screen display arranged as part of the user interface 302.

User electronic devices in accordance with the present invention are not limited to mobile phones ortablets and may take the form of any electronic device which may be used by a userto perform the methods according to aspects of the present invention. The user electronic device 300 may be a electronics module such as a smartphone, tablet personal computer (PC), mobile phone, smart phone, video telephone, laptop PC, netbook computer, personal digital assistant (FDA), mobile medical device, camera or wearable device. The user electronic device 300 may include a head-mounted device such as an Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality or Mixed Reality head-mounted device. The user electronic device 300 may be desktop PC, workstations, television apparatus or a projector, e.g. arranged to project a display onto a surface In use, the electronics module 100 is configured to receive raw biosignal data from the sensors 209, 211 and which are coupled to the controller 103 via the interface 101 and the ADC front end 139 for further processing and transmission to the user electronic device 300 as described above. The data transmitted to the user electronics device 300 includes raw or processed biosignal data such as ECG data, heart rate, respiration data, core temperature and other insights as determined.

The controller 305 of the user electronics device 300 is also operable to launch an application which is configured to receive, process and display data, such as raw or processed biosignal data, from the electronics module 100. A user, such as the wearer 600, is able to configure the application, using user inputs, to receive, process and display the received data in accordance with these user inputs.

The user electronic device 300 is arranged to receive the transmitted data from the electronics module 100 via the communicator 307 and which are coupled to the controller 305, and then to process and display the data in accordance with the user configuration.

In terms of ECG data, the controller 305 of the user electronics device 300 is operable to display an ECG trace 800 on the display 301 as part of the user interface 302. Other insights and data can be displayed on the display 301 as part of the user interface 302 as required.

The ECG trace 800 can be displayed in real-time.

The ECG trace 800 provides the user e.g. the wearer 600, with a visual representation of the wearer's heart's QRS complex including the R-R value.

However, as mentioned above, when a wearer of the wearable assembly 500 is undergoing activity then the ECG trace 800 can become noisy and, whilst the information and insights can be determined through processing and can be displayed, the way in which the ECG trace 800 appears when displayed and when containing a high level of motion artefacts and noise can be difficult to intuitively view and contextualise during a brief glance, for example whilst moving.

The system 10 can therefore configured to detect when the wearer 600 is engaged in activity and display an ECG trace 800 which is more easily viewed in these circumstances.

As mentioned above, the IMU 111 of the electronics module 100 can be configured to use decision tree logic to determine the activity level of the wearer of the electronics module 100 and to provide an output to the controller 103.

The controller 103 is also configured to transmit, for example via the second antenna 109 using Bluetooth®, activity classification data relating to this activity level, under an Activity Characteristic, for example 0=Iying down, 1=sitting, 2=walking, 3=jogging, and 4=running.

As an alternative to providing activity classification date using machine learning, the raw data from the IMU 111 can be used by the electronics module 100, user electronic device 300 or a remote server 700 to perform the activity classification.

The user electronic device 300 can also use motion data from an IMU provided within the user electronic device 300 (if provided) to determine activity levels of a user.

Alternative means of detecting the quality of the biosignal data can be used. For example, with an ECG trace, the method can include detecting lost R-peaks or spurious peaks in the ECG trace indicating a noisy ECG trace of poor quality. This can be done either on the electronics module 100 or on the user electronics device 300.

An IMU on the user electronic device 300 can be used to validate activity events that are transmitted from the electronics module 100.

Optionally, the controller 305 of the user electronic device 300 can be configured to carry out image processing of the incoming ECG waveform to determine the quality of the biosignal data i.e how noisy the ECG trace will be.

Alternatively, image processing can be implemented on a remote server 700 to which the electronics module 100 and user electronics device 300 are communicatively coupled.

When the user electronic device 300 has determined that the wearer 600 is in a motionless/inactive state, for example by receiving a relevant Activity Characteristic number from the electronics module 100 that is 2 or less, or has otherwise determined that the ECG trace 308 is clean, and the user electronic device 300 is receiving ECG data, the controller 305 is configured to store a portion of the incoming ECG data.

Specifically, the controller 305 is configured to store at least one cycle of the QRS complex, for example as illustrated in Figure 1, in the form of a set of data points stored in the memory 304. The controller 305 can then be configured to retrieve these data points from the memory 304 to construct an ECG trace 800 for display on the display 301. This trace can be displayed in a repeating pattern to reproduce a continuous trace as will be described below and as illustrated in Figure 3.

If during any period of use, the electronics module 100 and/or the user electronic device 300 determines that the wearer 600 is in a period of activity such that the ECG trace 800 is likely to be noisy, or has otherwise determined that the ECG trace 800 is too noisy, then the controller 305 of the user electronics device 300 is configured to retrieve the stored ECG signal trace data from the memory 305 and construct and display an ECG signal trace 308 based on the stored ECG signal data as a replacement for the real-time trace being currently displayed.

The replacement trace replicates the QRS complex of the wearer 600. The replacement trace 35 is also modified by a characteristic of the real-time ECG data currently being received by the user electronic device 300 from the electronic module 100. Such a characteristic may be the RR value i.e. as a measure of heart rate.

The replacement trace is therefore a composite trace in which real-time data is mapped to a trace reconstructed from a data set obtained when incoming real-time data is considered to be less noisy or cleaner.

In this way, the replacement ECG trace 800 reflects the real-time data received from the electronics module 100 whilst having a visual appearance which is recognisable to the user. The real-time ECG trace is therefore filtered using prior information obtained from a stored ECG signal trace The activity level may be set by either the controller 103 of the electronics module 100, or the controller 305 of the user electronic device 300, as appropriate, to establish a likelihood of a noisy ECG trace 800. This may be, for example, where the activity level Bluetooth characteristic is 2 or above.

In another exemplar embodiment, and as part of a configuration or set up process, the wearer 600 can use the user electronic device 300, whilst wearing the electronics module 100, to sample ECG data from the sensors 400 whilst the wearer 600 is stationary. The user electronics device 300 is then configured to display the ECG trace 800 in the usual way. The user electronics device 300 can then arranged to prompt the wearer 600 to accept the displayed ECG trace 800 as a default trace to be displayed during periods of activity or when the ECG trace 800 is otherwise noisy.

Referring to Figure 8, there is shown a flow diagram for an example method according to aspects of the present disclosure.

Step 3201 of the method comprises providing an electronics module 100 and a user electronics device. The electronics module is communicatively coupled to sensors on a wearable article worn by a wearer.

In step S202, a user launches an application on the user electronic device The user can be the wearer or some other person, for example, a sports coach.

In step 3203 the user electronic device is paired to the electronics module.

In step 3204, the electronics device senses and processes biosignal data, which in this example is ECG data, from the sensors on the wearable article 200 and transmits the ECG data to the user electronics device.

At step S205, if it is determined that the ECG trace is, or is likely to be, of a quality that is above a predetermined quality threshold because the noise level is minimal,, for example because the activity classification the activity level of the wearer is below a predetermined threshold, then, at step S206, ECG data is stored in memory as a set of data points sufficient to be able to construct a recognisable ECG trace from the stored set of data points.

At step S207, an ECG trace corresponding to the received ECG data is displayed to the wearer or user at the user electronic device.

At step 3208, ECG data continues to be received from the electronics device, including the QRS complex data and the presence of noise artefacts in the signal monitored. This can be done, for example, by monitoring the activity level of the wearer 600 as described above.

If, at step S209, it is determined that the ECG trace is still likely to be clean, then the incoming ECG data continues to be displayed in real time. However, if it is determined the quality of the incoming ECG data is below a predetermined quality threshold such that it is likely to give rise to a noisy ECG trace, for example by determining that the activity level is above a predetermined threshold, then, at step 3210, the ECG data set that was stored in step 3205 is retrieved from memory.

At step 3211, the retrieved stored data set is used to construct an ECG trace that represents a clean ECG trace of the wearer. This is because the stored ECG data used to construct the ECG trace was obtained at a time when the ECG signals was, or was likely to be, clean. The constructed ECG trace uses stored ECG data from the wearer, and, as such, the constructed ECG trace will reflect the wearer's physiological characteristics and the wearer's QRS complex.

The constructed ECG trace is modified using ECG data received in step 3208, by superimposing real-time characteristics, such as the R-R value, from the ECG data received in step 3208 onto the constructed ECG trace to generate a replacement composite ECG trace comprising a ECG trace with minimal noise artefacts but reflecting real-time characteristics such current heart rate.

At step S212, the composite ECG trace is then displayed on the display of the user electronics device.

Referring to Figure 9, there is shown a swim flow diagram for another example method according to aspects of the present disclosure.

In this example, a wearer 600 is wearing a wearable assembly 500 comprising a garment 200 and an electronics module 100. The electronics module 100 is communicatively coupled to the user electronic device 300.

At step 3301 activity classification data and ECG data is transmitted from the electronics module to the user electronic device.

At step 3302 the user electronic device determines the activity level for the wearer on the basis of the activity classification level.

When the activity level is determined to be below a predetermined activity threshold, at step 8303 the user electronic device displays an ECG trace whilst also storing the ECG trace in memory as a set of data points sufficient to be able to construct a recognisable ECG trace from the stored set of data points.

At step 3304, the user electronic device continues to receive activity classification data and ECG data and continues to display the ECG trace in real time whilst the activity level is below the predetermined activity threshold.

If, at any time, and at step 3305, the user electronic device determines that the activity level is now above the predetermined activity threshold, then, at step S306 the user electronic device stops displaying the ECG in real time, retrieves the set of stored ECG data points from memory At step S307, the retrieved stored data set is used to construct an ECG trace that represents a clean ECG trace of the wearer. The constructed ECG trace is then modified using ECG data received in step 3303, by superimposing real-time characteristics from the ECG data received in step 3304 onto the constructed ECG trace to generate a composite ECG trace comprising a ECG trace with minimal noise artefacts but reflecting real-time characteristics such current heart rate.

At step 3308 the composite trace is then displayed on the display of the user electronic device as a continuous trace.

At step S309, the user electronic device continues to receive activity classification data and ECG data and continues to display the composite trace whilst the activity level is above the predetermined activity threshold.

If, at any time, and at step 3310, the user electronic device determines that the activity level is now back below the predetermined activity threshold, then, at step 3311 the user electronic device once again starts displaying the ECG in real time on the display of the user electronic device as a continuous trace.

The toggling between a real time trace and the display of a stored ECG trace continues whilst the electronics module 100 is operating and communicating with the user electronic device 300.

Referring to Figure 10, there is shown a swim flow diagram for another example method

according to aspects of the present disclosure.

At step 3401 raw motion data from the IMU 111 and ECG data is transmitted from the electronics module to the user electronic device.

At step 3402 the user electronic device determines the activity level for the wearer on the basis of the raw motion data from the IMU.

When the activity level is determined to be below a predetermined activity threshold, at step 3403 the user electronic device displays the ECG trace whilst also storing the ECG trace in memory as a set of data points sufficient to be able to construct a recognisable ECG trace from the stored set of data points.

At step S404, the user electronic device continues to receive raw motion data and ECG data and continues to display the ECG trace in real time whilst the activity level is below the predetermined activity threshold.

If, at any time, and at step S405, the user electronic device determines that the activity level is now above the predetermined activity threshold, then, at step S406 the ECG stops displaying the ECG in real time, and retrieves from memory the set of stored ECG data points from the ECG data received in step S401.

At step S407, the retrieved stored data set is used to construct an ECG trace that represents a clean ECG trace of the wearer. The constructed ECG trace is then modified, by superimposing real-time characteristics from the ECG data received in step 3304 onto the constructed ECG trace to generate a composite replacement ECG trace comprising a ECG trace with minimal noise but reflecting real-time characteristics such current heart rate.

At step S408 the composite trace is then displayed At step S409, the user electronic device continues to receive raw motion data and ECG data and continues to display the composite ECG trace as a continuous whilst the activity level is above the predetermined activity threshold.

If, at any time, and at step S410, the user electronic device determines that the activity level is now back below the predetermined activity threshold, then, at step S411 the user electronic device once again starts displaying the ECG data in real time on the display of the user electronic device as a continuous trace.

Referring to Figure 11, there is shown a swim flow diagram for another example method

according to aspects of the present disclosure.

In this example, a wearer 600 is wearing a wearable assembly 500 comprising a garment 200 and an electronics module 100. The electronics module 100 and the user electronics device 300 are communicatively coupled to the server 700.

At step S501 ECG data is transmitted from the electronics module to the server.

At step 3502 the server determines the ECG noise quality for the wearer by suitable data processing of the received ECG activity data.

When the ECG noise quality is determined to be above a predetermined quality threshold, at step S503 the ECG data is stored in memory as a set of data points and, at step 3504, is transmitted the ECG data to the user electronic device, where, at step 3505 the ECG trace is displayed.

At step 3506, the server continues to receive ECG data and the user electronics device continues to display the ECG trace in real time whilst the ECG level is above the predetermined quality threshold.

If, at any time, at step 3507, the server determines that the ECG noise quality is now below the predetermined quality threshold, then, at step S508 the server retrieves the stored set of ECG data points using ECG data received in step S501 from memory.

At step 3509, the retrieved stored data set is used to construct an ECG trace and that represents a clean ECG trace of the wearer. The constructed ECG trace is then modified, by superimposing real-time characteristics from the ECG data received in step S506 onto the constructed ECG trace to generate a replacement composite ECG trace comprising a ECG trace with minimal noise but reflecting real-time characteristics such current heart rate.

At step 3510, the composite ECG trace is transmitted to the user electronic device.

At step 3511, the user electronic device displays the composite ECG trace on the display of the user electronic device as a continuous trace.

At step 3512, the server continues receive ECG data from the electronics module and the user electronic device continues to display the composite ECG trace as a continuous trace whilst the activity level is below the predetermined quality threshold.

If, at any time, and at step 3513, the server determines that the ECG noise quality is now back above the predetermined quality threshold, then, at step 3514 real time ECG data is transmitted to the user electronic device and, at step 3515, the user electronic device once again starts displaying the ECG in real time on the display of the user electronic device.

The toggling between a real time trace and the display of a stored ECG trace continues whilst the electronics module 100 is operating and communicating with the user electronic device 300 via the server 700.

Referring to Figure 12, there is shown a swim flow diagram for another example method according to aspects of the present disclosure.

At step 3601 ECG data is transmitted from the electronics module to the user electronic device At step 3602, the user electronic device obtains motion data from an internal IMU.

At step S603, and on the basis of the motion data obtained in step S602, the user electronic device determines the activity level for the wearer.

At step S604, when the user electronic device determines that the activity level is below a predetermined activity threshold the user electronic device stores the received ECG data in memory as a set of data points and displays the ECG data as an ECG trace in real time..

At step S605, the user electronic device continues to receive ECG data from the wearable assembly 500.

At step S606, the user electronic device continues to receive motion data from the internal IMU and continues to display the ECG trace in real time whilst the activity level is below the predetermined activity threshold.

If, at any time, and at step S607, the user electronic device determines that the activity level is now beyond the predetermined activity threshold, then, at step S608 the user electronic device stops displaying the ECG in real time, retrieves the stored set of data points from the ECG data received in step 3601.

At step 3609, the retrieved stored data set is used to construct an ECG trace and that represents a clean ECG trace of the wearer. The constructed ECG trace is then modified, by superimposing real-time characteristics from the ECG data received in step S606 onto the constructed ECG trace to generate a composite ECG trace comprising a ECG trace with minimal noise artefacts but reflecting real-time characteristics such current heart rate.

At step 3610, the composite ECG trace is displayed on the user electronic device.

At step S611, the user electronic device continues to receive ECG data and continues to display the composite ECG trace as a continuous trace whilst the activity level is above the predetermined threshold.

At step S612, the user electronic device continues to obtain motion data from the internal IMU and If, at any time, and at step S613, the user electronic device determines that the activity level is now back below the predetermined threshold, then, at step S614 the user electronic device once again starts displaying the ECG in real time on the display of the user electronic device as a continuous trace.

Whilst the steps example embodiments described above are implemented on specific components of the system 10, it will be understood that other combinations are possible. For example, steps implemented on the wearable assembly 500 user electronic device 300 or server 700 could equally be carried out on another of the wearable assembly 500, user electronic device or server.

In some embodiments, the described elements may be configured to reside on a tangible, persistent, addressable storage medium and may be configured to execute on one or more processors. These functional elements may in some embodiments include, by way of example, components, such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components and task components, processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, segments of program code, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuitry, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables.

Although the example embodiments have been described with reference to the components, modules and units discussed herein, such functional elements may be combined into fewer elements or separated into additional elements. Various combinations of optional features have been described herein, and it will be appreciated that described features may be combined in any suitable combination. In particular, the features of any one example embodiment may be combined with features of any other embodiment, as appropriate, except where such combinations are mutually exclusive. Throughout this specification, the term "comprising" or "comprises" means including the component(s) specified but not to the exclusion of the presence of others.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A computer-implemented method comprising: obtaining biosignal data for the wearer of a wearable article; generating and displaying a first representation of the obtained biosignal data and generating and displaying a second representation of the biosignal data, the second representation comprising a composite of the first representation modified using one or more characteristics obtained from the biosignal data.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises; obtaining activity data; determining an activity level for a wearer of the wearable article from the obtained activity data; determining if the activity level is above or below a predetermined threshold and, when the activity level is below the predetermined threshold, storing data representative of the obtained biosignal data and generating and displaying the first representation of the obtained biosignal data and, when the determined activity level is above the predetermined activity threshold, generating and displaying the second representation of the biosignal data, the second representation comprising a composite of the first representation modified using one or more characteristics obtained from the biosignal data obtained when the activity level is below the predetermined threshold.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the activity data is obtained from an electronics module for the wearable article.
4. A method according to claim 2, wherein the activity data is obtained from a user electronic device arranged to receive signals from an electronics module for a wearable article.
5. A method according to any of claims 2 to 4, wherein obtaining the activity data comprises obtaining motion data for the wearer of the wearable article.
6. A method according to any of claims 2 to 4, wherein obtaining the activity data comprises obtaining orientation data for the wearer of the wearable article.
7. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the biosignal data is ECG data and the first and second representations are ECG traces.
8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the second representation comprises the ECG trace of the first representation and the characteristic used to modify the first representation is an R-R peak value determined from the biosignal data obtained when the biosignal data quality is below the predetermined threshold.
9. A method according to any preceding claim and performed by a controller for a user electronic device, the user electronic device further including an interface, coupled to the controller, and arranged to receive signals from an electronics module for a wearable article.
10. An electronic device comprising a controller, a display, and a memory, the controller being arranged to receive signals from a wearable article, wherein the controller is configured to obtain biosignal data for a wearer of the wearable article, the controller being further configured to generate and display a first representation of the obtained biosignal data and, to generate and display a second representation of the biosignal data, the second representation comprising a composite of the first representation modified using one or more characteristics obtained from the biosignal data.
11. An electronic device according to claim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to; obtain activity data; to determine an activity level for a wearer of the wearable article from the obtained activity data; to determine if the activity level is above or below a predetermined threshold and, when the activity level is below the predetermined threshold, to store data representative of the obtained biosignal data in the memory and to generate and display a first representation of the obtained biosignal data on the display and, when the determined activity level is above the predetermined activity threshold, to generate and display a second representation of the biosignal data on the display, the second representation comprising a composite of the first representation modified using one or more characteristics obtained from the biosignal data obtained when the activity level is below the predetermined threshold.
12. An electronic device according to claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to obtain activity data from an electronics module for the wearable article and to determine the activity level from the activity data obtained from the electronics module.
13. An electronic device according to claim 12, further including an inertial measurement unit, wherein the controller is configured to obtain the activity data from the inertial measurement unit and to determine the activity level from the activity data from the inertial measurement unit.
14. An electronic device according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the activity data comprises motion data for the wearer of the wearable article.
15. An electronic device according to claim 12 or claim 13, wherein the activity data comprises orientation data for the wearer of the wearable article.
16. An electronic device according to any of claims 10 to 15, wherein the biosignal data is ECG data and the first and second representations are ECG traces.
17. An electronic device according to claim 16, wherein the second representation comprises the ECG trace of the first representation and the characteristic used to modify the first representation is an R-R peak value determined from the biosignal data obtained when the biosignal data quality is below the predetermined threshold.
18. An electronic device as claimed in any of claims 10 to 17, wherein the electronic device is a user electronic device, the user electronic device further comprises an interface, coupled to the controller, and arranged to receive signals from an electronics module for a wearable article.
19. A controller for an electronic device according to any of claims 10 to 18.
20. A system comprising a wearable article including an electronics module, and a user electronic device as claimed in claim 18 and arranged to be communicatively coupled to the electronics module.