GB2624091A

GB2624091A - Physiological sensing via garments

Info

Publication number: GB2624091A
Application number: GB2314303.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Denise Durrenberger Marcelle; Gennaco Jillian; William III Lessard Joseph; Ghannad-Rezaie Mostafa; Joseph Silva Mitchell; Hughes Howland Mark; K Keetell Stacey
Original assignee: Whoop Inc
Current assignee: Whoop Inc
Priority date: 2022-09-21
Filing date: 2023-09-19
Publication date: 2024-05-08
Also published as: GB202314303D0

Abstract

A smart garment system comprising a plurality of garments, a physiological monitor 320 with a sensor and a communications interface to transmit data, a pocket in each of the garments to receive the sensor unit which has an elastic layer to urge the sensors towards a user’s skin and a detection element in the pockets to detect the presence of the sensor or communicate data to the sensor and an external device. The detect element may include an identifier, an RFID tag, an NFC tag, a capacitance or magnetic sensor or an electrical or mechanical contact. It may communicate a location which controls the physiological monitoring performed. Multiple sensors 320 performing differential analysis on blood pressure, heart strength, circulatory pathway pliability or muscular fitness may be used. Beacons can synchronize signals. Signal quality checks with a quality threshold may be applied.

Description

PHYSIOLOGICAL SENSING VIA GARMENTS

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Pat. App. No. 63/447,812 filed on February 23, 2023, and U.S. Provisional Pat. App. No. 63/408,538 filed on September 21, 2022, where the entire contents of each of the foregoing applications are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to physiological monitoring systems and arrangements for deploying and using same

BACKGROUND

[0003] Wearable physiological monitors can provide a wealth of physiological data from a wearer. There remains a need for improved physiological monitors to better support and augment continuous monitoring for a wide range of users and activities.

SUMMARY

[0004] The present teachings include physiological monitoring systems and arrangements for deploying and using same, including devices, systems, and methods to support continuous monitoring. For example, the present disclosure includes a plurality of garments that can provide infrastructure for using one or more physiological monitoring devices [0005] In an aspect, a smart garment system disclosed herein may include: a plurality of garments including at least a first garment and a second garment; a physiological monitor including one or more physiological sensors and a communications interface programmed to transmit data from at least one of the physiological sensors to an external device; one or more pockets included on or within each of the first garment and the second garment, each of the one or more pockets sized and shaped to receive at least a portion of the physiological monitor therein, and each of the one or more pockets including at least one elastic layer structurally configured to urge the one or more physiological sensors of the physiological monitor toward skin of a wearer of at least one of the first garment and the second garment; and a detection element disposed on or within at least one of the one or more pockets. The detection element may be configured to perform at least one of (i) detecting a presence or absence of the physiological monitor, and (ii) communicating data to at least one of the physiological monitor and the external device.

[0006] Implementations may include one or more of the following features. The detection element may include an identifier for identifying at least one of a garment in which the detection element is disposed, and the wearer of the garment in which the detection element is disposed. The detection element may include a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. The detection element may include at least one of a near-field-communication (NFC) tag, a capacitance sensor, a magnetic sensor, an electrical contact, and a mechanical contact. The detection element may include a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the physiological monitor. When the detection element senses the presence of the physiological monitor, the detection element may be programmed to communicate a location of the physiological monitor to one or more of the physiological monitor and the external device. The location may include a specific region of a garment in which the detection element is disposed. Sensing performed by the physiological monitor may be controlled dependent upon the location of the physiological monitor. One or more of a sensor type, a sensor parameter, and a processing model may be selected at least in part based on the location of the physiological monitor. The location of the physiological monitor may be used at least in part to determine an activity being performed by the wearer. The first monitor may be located in a first region of either the first garment or the second garment, and the second monitor may be located in a second region of either the first garment or the second garment, where the first region is different from the second region. The first monitor and the second monitor may be programmed to perform a differential analysis based on a sensed physiological parameter of the wearer. The differential analysis may be used in an analysis related to blood pressure of the wearer. The differential analysis may be used in an analysis related to at least one of heart strength and a pliability of one or more circulatory pathways of the wearer. Based on the analysis, information may be transmitted to the wearer related to at least one of cardiac age, cardiac health, and a cardiac condition. The differential analysis may be used in an analysis related to at least one of identifying an activity and determining muscular fitness. The system may include a beacon configured to synchronize signals from the first monitor and the second monitor. The beacon may be included on at least one of the first monitor and the second monitor. The first monitor and the second monitor may communicate with one another. The first monitor and the second monitor may be programmed to perform different sensing operations based on location. The first monitor may be located on the first garment, and the second monitor may be located on the second garment. Data from at least one of the physiological sensors may be monitored for signal quality. Based on the signal quality being below a predetermined threshold, a notification may be sent to the wearer related to at least one of garment type, garment size, garment fit, garment age, garment usage, and location of the physiological sensor. Using the detection element, data related to a number of uses may be transmitted to at least one of the physiological monitor and the external device. At least one of the plurality of garments may include: an outer layer structurally configured to fit on the wearer in a non-compressible manner; and an inner layer coupled to the outer layer, the inner layer having an elasticity such that at least a portion of the inner layer compresses against skin of the wearer and is thereby more tightly fitting on the wearer of the garment than the outer layer, where a pocket of the one or more pockets is disposed within one or more designated areas on the inner layer.

[0007] In an aspect, a system disclosed herein may include an outer layer structurally configured to fit on a wearer of the garment in a non-compressible manner; an inner layer coupled to the outer layer, the inner layer having an elasticity such that at least a portion of the inner layer compresses against skin of the wearer and is thereby more tightly fitting on the wearer of the garment than the outer layer; and a pocket disposed within one or more designated areas on the inner layer, the pocket defining a void or window adjacent to skin of the wearer of the garment, the one or more designated areas including at least one of a torso region, a chest region, a spinal region, an extremity region, a waistband region, a backside region, a neck region, and a cuff region. The system may also include a physiological monitor removably disposed within the pocket, the physiological monitor including one or more physiological sensors and a communications interface programmed to transmit data from at least one of the physiological sensors to an external device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the devices, systems, and methods described herein will be apparent from the following description of particular embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the devices, systems, and methods described herein. In the drawings, like reference numerals generally identify corresponding elements.

[0009] Fig 1 shows a physiological monitoring device. [0010] Fig 2 illustrates a physiological monitoring system. [0011] Fig 3 shows a smart garment system.

[0012] Fig 4 shows a garment with a plurality of modules.

[0013] Fig 5 shows a bikini garment with a plurality of modules.

[0014] Fig 6 shows a front view and back view of a one-piece swimsuit with a plurality of modules.

[0015] Fig 7 shows a full body suit with a plurality of modules.

[0016] Fig 8 shows a top view and a bottom view of glove garment with a plurality of modules.

[0017] Fig. 9 shows a variety of helmets with a plurality of modules.

[0018] Fig. 10 shows a continuous headband and a non-continuous headband with a plurality of modules.

[0019] Fig. 11 shows a garment with a protective element with a plurality of modules.

[0020] Fig. 12 shows a portion of a garment having multiple layers.

[0021] Fig. 13 shows a front view and a back view of a non-compression shirt with a compression component.

[0022] Fig. 14 shows a front view and a back view of a non-compression tank-top with a compression component.

[0023] Figs. 15-18 show examples of garments compatible with a physiological monitoring device.

DESCRIPTION

[0024] The embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which preferred embodiments are shown. The foregoing may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the illustrated embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these illustrated embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will convey the scope to those skilled in the art.

[0025] All documents mentioned herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. References to items in the singular should be understood to include items in the plural, and vice versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise or clear from the text. Grammatical conjunctions are intended to express any and all disjunctive and conjunctive combinations of conjoined clauses, sentences, words, and the like, unless otherwise stated or clear from the context. Thus, the term "or" should generally be understood to mean "and/or" and so forth.

[0026] Recitation of ranges of values herein are not intended to be limiting, referring instead individually to any and all values falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value within such a range is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. The words "about," "approximately" or the like, when accompanying a numerical value, are to be construed as indicating a deviation as would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art to operate satisfactorily for an intended purpose. Similarly, words of approximation such as "approximately" or "substantially" when used in reference to physical characteristics, should be understood to contemplate a range of deviations that would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art to operate satisfactorily for a corresponding use, function, purpose, or the like. Ranges of values and/or numeric values are provided herein as examples only, and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of the described embodiments. Where ranges of values are provided, they are also intended to include each value within the range as if set forth individually, unless expressly stated to the contrary. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language ("e.g.," "such as," or the like) provided herein, is intended merely to better describe the embodiments and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the embodiments. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any unclaimed element as essential to the practice of the embodiments.

[0027] In the following description, it is understood that terms such as "first,' "second," "top," "bottom," "up," "down," "above," "below," and the like, are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms unless specifically stated to the contrary.

[0028] The term "user-as used herein, refers to any type of animal, human or nonhuman, whose physiological information may be monitored using an exemplary wearable physiological monitoring system.

[0029] The term "continuous,' as used herein in connection with heart rate data, refers to the acquisition of heart rate data at a sufficient frequency to enable detection of individual heartbeats, and also refers to the collection of heart rate data over extended periods such as an hour, a day or more (including acquisition throughout the day and night). More generally with respect to physiological signals that might be monitored by a wearable device, "continuous" or "continuously" will be understood to mean continuously at a rate and duration suitable for the intended time-based processing, and physically at an inter-periodic rate (e.g., multiple times per heartbeat, respiration, and so forth) sufficient for resolving the desired physiological characteristics such as heart rate, heart rate variability, heart rate peak detection, pulse shape, and so forth. At the same time, continuous monitoring is not intended to exclude ordinary data acquisition interruptions such as temporary displacement of monitoring hardware due to sudden movements, changes in external lighting, loss of electrical power, physical manipulation and/or adjustment by a wearer, physical displacement of monitoring hardware due to external forces, and so forth. It will also be noted that heart rate data or a monitored heart rate, in this context, may more generally refer to raw sensor data such as optical intensity signals, or processed data therefrom such as heart rate data, signal peak data, heart rate variability data, or any other physiological or digital signal suitable for recovering heart rate information as contemplated herein. Furthermore, such heart rate data may generally be captured over some historical period that can be subsequently correlated to various other data or metrics related to, e.g., sleep states, recognized exercise activities, resting heart rate, maximum heart rate, and so forth.

[0030] The term "computer-readable medium," as used herein, refers to a non-transitory storage media such as storage hardware, storage devices, computer memory that may be accessed by a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a computational system, or the like, or any other module or component or module of a computational system to encode thereon computer-executable instructions, software programs, and/or other data. The "computer-readable medium" may be accessed by a computational system or a module of a computational system to retrieve and/or execute the computer-executable instructions or software programs encoded on the medium. The non-transitory computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, one or more types of hardware memory, non-transitory tangible media (for example, one or more magnetic storage disks, one or more optical disks, one or more USB flash drives), virtual or physical computer system memory, physical memory hardware such as random access memory (such as, DRAM, SRAM, EDO RAM), and so forth. Although not depicted, any of the devices or components described herein may include a computer-readable medium or other memory for storing program instructions, data, and the like.

[0031] Fig. 1 shows a physiological monitoring system. The system 100 may include a wearable monitor 104 that is configured for physiological monitoring. The system 100 may also include a removable and replaceable battery 106 for recharging the wearable monitor 104. The wearable monitor 104 may include a strap 102 or other retaining system(s) for securing the wearable monitor 104 in a position on a wearer's body for the acquisition of physiological data as described herein. For example, the strap 102 may include a slim elastic band formed of any suitable elastic material such as a rubber or a woven polymer fiber such as a woven polyester, polypropylene, nylon, spandex, and so forth. The strap 102 may be adjustable to accommodate different wrist sizes, and may include any latches, hasps, or the like to secure the wearable monitor 104 in an intended position for monitoring a physiological signal. While a wrist-worn device is depicted, it will be understood that the wearable monitor 104 may be configured for positioning in any suitable location on a user's body, based on the sensing modality and the nature of the signal to be acquired. For example, the wearable monitor 104 may be configured for use on a wrist, an ankle, a bicep, a chest, or any other suitable location(s), and the strap 102 may be, or may include, a waistband or other elastic band or the like within an article of clothing or accessory. The wearable monitor 104 may also or instead be structurally configured for placement on or within a garment, e.g., permanently or in a removable and replaceable manner. To that end, the wearable monitor 104 may be shaped and sized for placement within a pocket, slot, and/or other housing that is coupled to or embedded within a garment. In such configurations, the pocket or other retaining arrangement on the garment may include sensing windows or the like so that the wearable monitor 104 can operate while placed for use in the garment. United States Pat. No, I I, 185,292 describes non-limiting example embodiments of suitable wearable monitors 104, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0032] The system 100 may include any hardware components, subsystems, and the like to support various functions of the wearable monitor 104 such as data collection, processing, display, and communications with external resources. For example, the system 100 may include hardware for a heart rate monitor using, e.g., photoplethysmography, electrocardiography, or any other technique(s). The system 100 may be configured such that, when the wearable monitor 104 is placed for use about a wrist (or at some other body location), the system 100 initiates acquisition of physiological data from the wearer. In some embodiments, the pulse or heart rate may be acquired optically based on a light source (such as light emitting diodes (LEDs)) and optical detectors in the wearable monitor 104. The LEDs may be positioned to direct illumination toward the user's skin, and optical detectors such as photodiodes may be used to capture illumination intensity measurements indicative of illumination from the LEDs that is reflected and/or transmitted by the wearer's skin.

[0033] The system 100 may be configured to record other physiological and/or biomechanical parameters including, but not limited to, skin temperature (using a thermometer), galvanic skin response (using a galvanic skin response sensor), motion (using one or more multi-axes accelerometers and/or gyroscope), blood pressure, and the like, as well environmental or contextual parameters such as ambient light, ambient temperature, humidity, time of day, and so forth. For example, the wearable monitor 104 may include sensors such as accelerometers and/or gyroscopes for motion detection, sensors for environmental temperature sensing, sensors to measure electrodermal activity (FDA), sensors to measure galvanic skin response (GSR) sensing, and so forth. The system 100 may also or instead include other systems or subsystems supporting addition functions of the wearable monitor 104. For example, the system 100 may include communications systems to support, e.g., near field communications, proximity sensing, Bluetooth communications, Wi-Fi communications, cellular communications, satellite communications, and so forth. The wearable monitor 104 may also or instead include components such as a GeoPositioning System (GPS), a display and/or user interface, a clock and/or timer, and so forth.

[0034] The wearable monitor 104 may include one or more sources of battery power, such as a first battery within the wearable monitor 104 and a second battery 106 that is removable from arid replaceable to the wearable monitor 104 in order to recharge the battery in the wearable monitor 104. Also or instead, the system 100 may include a plurality of wearable monitors 104 (and/or other physiological monitors) that can share battery power or provide power to one another. The system 100 may perform numerous functions related to continuous monitoring, such as automatically detecting when the user is asleep, awake, exercising, and so forth, and such detections may be performed locally at the wearable monitor 104 or at a remote service coupled in a communicating relationship with the wearable monitor 104 and receiving data therefrom. In general, the system 100 may support continuous, independent monitoring of a physiological signal such as a heart rate, and the underlying acquired data may be stored on the wearable monitor 104 for an extended period until it can be uploaded to a remote processing resource for more computationally complex analysis.

[0035] In one aspect, the wearable monitor may be a wrist-worn photoplethysmography device [0036] Fig. 2 illustrates a physiological monitoring system. More specifically, Fig. 2 illustrates a physiological monitoring system 200 that may be used with any of the methods or devices described herein. In general, the system 200 may include a physiological monitor 206, a user device 220, a remote server 230 with a remote data processing resource (such as any of the processors or processing resources described herein), and one or more other resources 250, all of which may be interconnected through a data network 202.

[0037] The data network 202 may be any of the data networks described herein. For example, the data network 202 may be any network(s) or internetwork(s) suitable for communicating data and information among participants in the system 200. This may include public networks such as the Internet, private networks, telecommunications networks such as the Public Switched Telephone Network or cellular networks using third generation (e.g., 3G or IMT-200), fourth generation (e.g., LIE (E-UTRA) or WiMAX-Advanced (IEEE 802.16m)), fifth generation (e.g., 56), and/or other technologies, as well as any of a variety of corporate area or local area networks and other switches, routers, hubs, gateways, and the like that might be used to carry data among participants in the system 200. This may also include local or short-range communications infrastructure suitable, e.g., for coupling the physiological monitor 206 to the user device 220, or otherwise supporting communicating with local resources. By way of non-limiting examples, short range communications may include Wi-Fi communications, Bluetooth communications, infrared communications, near field communications, communications with RFID tags or readers, and so forth.

[0038] The physiological monitor 206 may, in general, be any physiological monitoring device or system, such as any of the wearable monitors or other monitoring devices or systems described herein. In one aspect, the physiological monitor 206 may be a wearable physiological monitor shaped and sized to be worn on a wrist or other body location. The physiological monitor 206 may include a wearable housing 211, a network interface 212, one or more sensors 214, one or more light sources 215, a processor 216, a haptic device 217 or other user input/output hardware, a memory 218, and a strap 210 for retaining the physiological monitor 206 in a desired location on a user. In one aspect, the physiological monitor 206 may be configured to acquire heart rate data and/or other physiological data from a wearer in an intermittent or substantially continuous manner. In another aspect, the physiological monitor 206 may be configured to support extended, continuous acquisition of physiological data, e.g., for several days, a week, or more.

[0039] The network interface 212 of the physiological monitor 206 may be configured to couple the physiological monitor 206 to one or more other components of the system 200 in a communicating relationship, either directly, e.g., through a cellular data connection or the like, or indirectly through a short range wireless communications channel coupling the physiological monitor 206 locally to a wireless access point, router, computer, laptop, tablet, cellular phone, or other device that can locally process data, and/or relay data from the physiological monitor 206 to the remote server 230 or other resource(s) 250 as necessary or helpful for acquiring and processing data from the physiological monitor 206.

[0040] The one or more sensors 214 may include any of the sensors described herein, or any other sensors or sub-systems suitable for physiological monitoring or supporting functions. By way of example and not limitation, the one or more sensors 214 may include one or more of a light source, an optical sensor, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a temperature sensor, a galvanic skin response sensor, a capacitive sensor, a resistive sensor, an environmental sensor (e.g., for measuring ambient temperature, humidity, lighting, and the like), a geolocation sensor, a Global Positioning System, a proximity sensor, an RFID tag reader, and RFID tag, a temporal sensor, an electrodermal activity sensor, and the like. The one or more sensors 214 may be disposed in the wearable housing 211, or otherwise positioned and configured for physiological monitoring or other functions described herein. In one aspect, the one or more sensors 214 include a light detector configured to provide light intensity data to the processor 216 (or to the remote server 230) for calculating a heart rate and a heart rate variability. The one or more sensors 214 may also or instead include an accelerometer, gyroscope, arid the like configured to provide motion data to the processor 216, e.g., for detecting activities such as a sleep state, a resting state, a waking event, exercise, and/or other user activity. In an implementation, the one or more sensors 214 may include a sensor to measure a galvanic skin response of the user. The one or more sensors 214 may also or instead include electrodes or the like for capturing electronic signals, e.g., to obtain an electrocardiogram and/or other electrically-derived physiological measurements.

[0041] The processor 216 and memory 218 may be any of the processors and memories described herein. In one aspect, the memory 218 may store physiological data obtained by monitoring a user with the one or more sensors 214, and or any other sensor data, program data, or other data useful for operation of the physiological monitor 206 or other components of the system 200. It will be understood that, while only the memory 218 on the physiological monitor is illustrated, any other device(s) or components of the system 200 may also or instead include a memory to store program instructions, raw data, processed data, user inputs, and so forth. In one aspect, the processor 216 of the physiological monitor 206 may be configured to obtain heart rate data from the user, such as heart rate data including or based on the raw data from the sensors 214. The processor 216 may also or instead be configured to determine, or assist in a determination of, a condition of the user related to, e.g., health, fitness, strain, recovery sleep, or any of the other conditions described herein.

[0042] The one or more light sources 215 may be coupled to the wearable housing 211 and controlled by the processor 216. At least one of the light sources 215 may be directed toward the skin of a user adjacent to the wearable housing 211. Light from the light source 215, or more generally, light at one or more wavelengths of the light source 215, may be detected by one or more of the sensors 214, and processed by the processor 216 as described herein.

[0043] The system 200 may further include a remote data processing resource executing on a remote server 230. The remote data processing resource may include any of the processors and related hardware described herein, and may be configured to receive data transmitted from the memory 218 of the physiological monitor 206, and to process the data to detect or infer physiological signals of interest such as heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, pulse oxygen, blood pressure, and so forth. The remote sewer 230 may also or instead evaluate a condition of the user such as a recovery state, sleep state, exercise activity, exercise type, sleep quality, daily activity strain, and any other health or fitness conditions that might be detected based on such data.

[0044] The system 200 may include one or more user devices 220, which may work together with the physiological monitor 206, e.g., to provide a display, or more generally, user input/output, for user data and analysis, and/or to provide a communications bridge from the network interface 212 of the physiological monitor 206 to the data network 202 and the remote sewer 230. For example, physiological monitor 206 may communicate locally with a user device 220, such as a smartphone of a user, via short-range communications, e.g., Bluetooth, or the like, for the exchange of data between the physiological monitor 206 and the user device 220, and the user device 220 may in turn communicate with the remote server 230 via the data network 202 in order to forward data from the physiological monitor 206 and to receive analysis and results from the remote server 230 for presentation to the user. In one aspect, the user device(s) 220 may support physiological monitoring by processing or pre-processing data from the physiological monitor 206 to support extraction of heart rate or heart rate variability data from raw data obtained by the physiological monitor 206. In another aspect, computationally intensive processing may advantageously be performed at the remote server 230, which may have greater memory capabilities and processing power than the physiological monitor 206 and/or the user device 220.

[0045] The user device 220 may include any suitable computing device(s) including, without limitation, a smartphone, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a network computer, a tablet, a mobile device, a portable digital assistant, a cellular phone, a portable media or entertainment device, or any other computing devices described herein. The user device 220 may provide a user interface 222 for access to data and analysis by a user, and/or to support user control of operation of the physiological monitor 206. The user interface 222 may be maintained by one or more applications executing locally on the user device 220, or the user interface 222 may be remotely served and presented on the user device 220, e.g., from the remote server 230 or the one or more other resources 250.

[0046] In general, the remote server 230 may include data storage, a network interface, and/or other processing circuitry. The remote server 230 may process data from the physiological monitor 206 and perform physiological and/or health monitoring/analyses or any of the other analyses described herein, (e.g., analyzing sleep, determining strain, assessing recovery, and so on), and may host a user interface for remote access to this data, e g, from the user device 220. The remote server 230 may include a web server or other programmatic front end that facilitates web-based access by the user devices 220 or the physiological monitor 206 to the capabilities of the remote sewer 230 or other components of the system 200.

[00471 The system 200 may include other resources 250, such as any resources that can be usefully employed in the devices, systems, and methods as described herein. For example, these other resources 250 may include other data networks, databases, processing resources, cloud data storage, data mining tools, computational tools, data monitoring tools, algorithms, and so forth. In another aspect, the other resources 250 may include one or more administrative or programmatic interfaces for human actors such as programmers, researchers, annotators, editors, analysts, coaches, and so forth, to interact with any of the foregoing. The other resources 250 may also or instead include any other software or hardware resources that may be usefully employed in the networked applications as contemplated herein. For example, the other resources 250 may include payment processing servers or platforms used to authorize payment for access, content, or option/feature purchases. In another aspect, the other resources 250 may include certificate servers or other security resources for third-party verification of identity, encryption or decryption of data, and so forth. In another aspect, the other resources 250 may include a desktop computer or the like co-located (e.g., on the same local area network with, or directly coupled to through a serial or USB cable) with a user device 220, wearable strap 210, or remote server 230. In this case, the other resources 250 may provide supplemental functions for components of the system 200 such as firmware upgrades, user interfaces, and storage and/or pre-processing of data from the physiological monitor 206 before transmission to the remote server 230.

[00481 The other resources 250 may also or instead include one or more web servers that provide web-based access to and from any of the other participants in the system 200. While depicted as a separate network entity, it will be readily appreciated that the other resources 250 (e.g., a web server) may also or instead be logically and/or physically associated with one of the other devices described herein, and may for example, include or provide a user interface 222 for web access to the remote sewer 230 or a database or other resource(s) to facilitate user interaction through the data network 202, e.g., from the physiological monitor 206 or the user device 220.

[0049] In another aspect, the other resources 250 may include fitness equipment or other fitness infrastructure. For example, a strength training machine may automatically record repetitions and/or added weight during repetitions, which may be wirelessly accessible by the physiological monitor 206 or some other user device 220. More generally, a gym may be configured to track user movement from machine to machine, and report activity from each machine in order to track various strength training activities in a workout. The other resources 250 may also or instead include other monitoring equipment or infrastructure. For example, the system 200 may include one or more cameras to track motion of free weights and/or the body position of the user during repetitions of a strength training activity or the like. Similarly, a user may wear, or have embedded in clothing, tracking fiducials such as visually distinguishable objects for image-based tracking, or radio beacons or the like for other tracking. In another aspect, weights may themselves be instrumented, e.g., with sensors to record and communicated detected motion, and/or beacons or the like to self-identify type, weight, and so forth, in order to facilitate automated detection and tracking of exercise activity with other connected devices.

[0050] One limitation on wearable sensors is body placement. Devices are typically wrist-based, and may occupy a location that a user would prefer to reserve for other devices or jewelry, or that a user would prefer to leave unadorned for aesthetic or functional reasons. This location also places constraints on what measurements can be taken, and may also limit user activities. For example, a user may be prevented from wearing boxing gloves while wearing a sensing device on their wrist. To address these issues, physiological monitors may also or instead be embedded in clothing, which may be specifically adapted for physiological monitoring with the addition of communications interfaces, power supplies, device location sensors, environmental sensors, geolocation hardware, payment processing systems, and any other components to provide infrastructure and augmentation for wearable physiological monitors. Such "smart garments" offer additional space on a user's body for supporting monitoring hardware, and may further enable sensing techniques that cannot be achieved with single sensing devices. For example, embedding a plurality of physiological sensors or other electronic/communication devices in a shirt may allow electrocardiogram (ECG) based heart rate measurements to be gathered from a torso region of the wearer; wireless antennas to be placed above the upper portion of the thoracic spine to achieve desired communications signals; a contactless payment system to be embedded in a sleeve cuff for interactions with a payment terminal; and muscle oxygen saturation measurements to be gathered from muscles such as the pectoralis major, lati ssimus dorsi, biceps brachii, and other major muscle groups. This non-exhaustive list illustrates just some examples of technology that may be incorporated into a single garment.

[0051] Smart garments may also free up body surfaces for other devices. For example, if sensors in a wrist-worn device that provide heart rate monitoring and step counting can be instead embedded in a user's undergarments, the user may still receive the biometric information they desire, while also being able to wear jewelry or other accessories for suitable occasions.

[0052] The present disclosure is generally directed to smart garment systems and techniques. It will be understood that a "smart garment" as described herein generally includes a garment the incorporates infrastructure and devices to support, augment, or complement various physiological monitoring modes. Such a garment may include a wired, local communication bus for intra-garment hardware communications, a wireless communication system for intra-garment hardware communications, a wireless communication system for extra-garment communications, and so forth. The garment may also or instead include a power supply, a power management system, processing hardware, data storage, and so forth, any of which may support enriched functions for the smart garment.

[0053] Fig. 3 shows a smart garment system. In general, the system 300 may include a plurality of components e.g., a garment 310, one or more modules 320, a controller 330, a processor 340, a memory 342, and so on-capable of communicating with one another over a data network 302. The garment 310 may be wearable by a user 301 and configured to communicate with a module 320 having a physiological sensor 322 that is structurally configured to sense a physiological parameter of the user 301. As discussed herein, the module 320 may be controllable by the controller 330 based at least in part on a location 316 where the module 320 is located on or within the garment 310. This position-based information may be derived from an interaction and/or communication between the module 320 and the garment 310 using various techniques. It will be understood that, while two controllers 330 are shown, the garment 310 may include a single inter-garment controller, or any number of separate controllers 330 in any number of garments 310 (e.g., one per garment, or one for all garments worn by a person, etc.), and/or controllers may be integrated into other modules 320.

[0054] For communication over the data network 302, the system 300 may include a network interface 304, which may be integrated into the garment 310, included in the controller 330, or in some other module or component of the system 300, or some combination of these. The network interface 304 may be configured to wirelessly communicate data through the data network 302. The data network 302 may include any communication network through which computer systems may exchange data For example, the data network 302 may include, but is not limited to, the Internet, an intranet, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network), a wireless network, a cellular data network, an optical network, and the like. To exchange data via the data network 302, the system 300 and the data network 302 may use various methods, protocols, and standards including, but not limited to, token ring, Ethernet, wireless Ethernet, Bluetooth, TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, FTP, SNMP, SMS, MMS, 5S7, JSON, XML, REST, SOAP, CORBA, HOP, RMI, DCOM and Web Services. To ensure data transfer is secure, the system 300 may transmit data via the data network 302 using a variety of security measures including, but not limited to, TSL, SSL and VPN. By way of example, some embodiments of the system 300 may be configured to stream information wirelessly to a social network, a data center, a cloud service, and so forth [0055] In some embodiments, data streamed from the system 300 to the data network 302 may be accessed by the user 301 (or other users) via a website. The network interface 304 may thus be configured such that data collected by the system 300 is streamed wirelessly to a remote processing facility 350, database 360, and/or server 370 for processing and access by the user. In some embodiments, data may be transmitted automatically, without user interactions, for example by storing data locally and transmitting the data over available local area network resources when available. In some embodiments, the system 300 may include a cellular chip or other hardware for independently accessing network resources from the garment 310 without requiring local network connectivity.

[0056] In one example, the network interface 304 may be configured to stream data using Bluetooth or Bluetooth Low Energy technology, e.g., to a nearby device such as a cell phone or tablet for forwarding to other resources on the data network 302. In another example, the network interface 304 may be configured to stream data using a cellular data service, such as via a 30, 4G, or 50 cellular network. It will be understood that the network interface 304 may include a computing device such as a mobile phone or the like. The network interface 304 may also or instead include or be included on another component of the system 300, or some combination of these. Where battery power or communications resources can advantageously be conserved, the system 300 may preferentially use local networking resources when available, and reserve cellular communications for situations where a data storage capacity of the garment 310 is reaching capacity. Thus, for example, the garment 310 may store data locally up to some predetermined threshold for local data storage, below which data is transmitted over local networks when available. The garment 310 may also transmit data to a central resource using a cellular data network only when local storage of data exceeds the predetermined threshold.

[0057] The garment 310 may include one or more of a shirt (or other top), shorts/pants (or other bottom), an undergarment (e.g., undershirt, underwear, brassiere, and so on), a sock or other footwear, a shoe, a facemask, a hat or helmet (or other head adornment), a compression sleeve, a sweatband, kinesiology tape or elastic therapeutic tape, a glove, and the like. More generally, the garment 310 may include any type(s) of wearable clothing or adornment suitable for wearing by a user and retaining one or more sensing modules as contemplated herein.

[0058] The garment 310 may include one or more designated areas 312 for positioning a module to sense a physiological parameter of the user 301 wearing the garment 310. One or more of the designated areas 312 may be specifically tailored for receiving a module 320 therein or thereon. For example, a designated area 312 may include a pocket structurally configured to receive a module 320 therein. Also or instead, a designated area 312 may include a first fastener configured to cooperate with a second fastener disposed on a module 320. One or more of the first fastener and the second fastener may include at least one of a hook-and-loop fastener, a button, a clamp, a clip, a snap, a projection, and a void.

[00591 The designated areas 312 may include at least one of a torso region, a spinal region, an extremity region (e.g., one or more of an arm region such as a sleeve, and a leg region such as a pant leg), a waistband region, a cuff region, and so on. Also or instead, one or more of the designated areas 312 may include at least a region adjacent to one or more muscle groups of the user 301-e.g., muscle groups including at least one of the pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, biceps brachii, and so on.

[00601 By placing a pocket or the like in one of these designated areas 312, a position of a module 320 can be controlled, and where an RFID tag, sensor, or the like is used, the designated area 312 can specifically sense when a module 320 is positioned there for monitoring, and can communicate the detected location to any suitable control circuitry. In this manner, a garment 310 may facilitate the installation of modules 320 in many different, discrete locations, the placement of which can be controlled by the configuration of the garment 310, and the use of which can be automatically detected when corresponding control modules 320 are placed there for use. Also or instead, the garment 310 may facilitate the placing of the modules 320 over relatively large regions of the garment 310. For example, a garment 310 may include a relatively large region fin terms of surface area) where a module 320 can be affixed or otherwise secured, e.g., by loops, straps, buttons, sheets of hook-and-loop fasteners, and so forth.

[0061] In general, each designated area 312 may include a pocket such as any of those described above, or any other mounting fixture or combination of fixtures. Where a pocket is used, the pocket may be configured as described above to preferentially urge a module 320 within the pocket toward the user's skin under normal pressure. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this may generally include an exterior layer of the pocket that is less elastic than an interior surface of the pocket so that when circumferential tension is applied (e.g., when the garment 310 is donned), the pocket preferentially urges a contact surface of the sensor inward toward the intended target surface with at least a predetermined normal force (when the garment 310 is properly sized for the user). In this respect, it will be understood that although some variation in normal force among users and garments is inevitable, typical tensions for comfortable use of properly fitted athletic wear are generally known, and adequate contact force to obtain a high quality physiological signal is generally known, and in any event readily observable in acquired data. As such, adequate circumferential tensions and resulting normal contact forces needed to promote good contact between sensing regions of the module 320 (such as LEDs, capacitive touch sensors, photodiodes, and the like) and the user's skin may readily be determined, and can advantageously facilitate the use of wrist-worn sensor housings such as those described above with one of the garments 310 described herein for off-wrist monitoring if/when desired.

[0062] In one aspect, the designated areas 312 may usefully be positioned where reinforcing elastic bands are typically provided on garments, e.g., around the mid-torso for a sports bra, around the waist on shorts or underwear, or on the sleeves of a t-shirt. In one aspect, the designated areas 312 may also usefully be positioned according to the intended physiological measurement, e.g., near major arteries suitable for heart rate detection using photoplethysmography. In one aspect, the garment 310 may usefully distribute these designated areas 312 (and supporting infrastructure such as wired connectors, location identification tags, and the like) at the intersection of regions where good physiological signals can be obtained and regions where adequate normal forces for good sensor contact can be generated by clothing. For example, this may include the ankles, the waist, the mid-torso, the biceps, the wrists, the forehead, the glutes, and so on.

[0063] The garment 310 may also or instead incorporate other infrastructure 315 to cooperate with a module 320. For example, the garment infrastructure 315 may include wires or the like embedded in the garment 310 to facilitate wired data or power transfer between installed modules 320 and other system components (including other modules 320). The infrastructure 315 may also or instead include integrated features for, e.g., powering modules, supporting data communications among modules, and otherwise supporting operation of the system 300. The infrastructure 314 may also or instead include location or identification tags or hardware, a power supply for powering modules 320 or other hardware, communications infrastructure as described herein, a wired intra-garment network, or supplemental components such as a processor, a Global Positioning System (GPS), a timing device, e.g., for synchronizing signals from multiple garments, a beacon for synchronizing signals among multiple modules 320, and so forth. More generally, any hardware, software, or combination of these suitable for augmenting operation of the garment 310 and a physiological monitoring system using the garment 310 may be incorporated as infrastructure 315 into the garment 310 as contemplated herein.

[0064] The modules 320 may generally be sized and shaped for placement on or within the one or more designated areas 312 of the garment 310. For example, in certain implementations, one or more of the modules 320 may be permanently affixed on or within the garment 310. In such instances, the modules 320 may be washable. Also or instead, in certain implementations, one or more of the modules 320 may be removable and replaceable relative to the garment 310. In such instances, the modules 320 need not be washable, although a module 320 may be designed to be washable and/or otherwise durable enough to withstand a prolonged period of engagement with a designated area 312 of the garment 310. A module 320 may be capable of being positioned in more than one of the designated areas 312 of the garment 310. That is, one or more of the plurality of modules 320 may be configured to sense data using a physiological sensor 322 in a plurality of designated areas 312 of the garment 310.

[0065] Removable and replaceable modules 320 may provide several advantages such as ease of garment care (e.g., washing) and power management (e.g., removal for recharging). Furthermore, removability may facilitate replacement and/or repositioning of modules within the garment 310 for different sensing activities or other reconfigurations, replacement of damaged or defective modules 320, and so forth.

[0066] A module 320 may include one or more physiological sensors 322 and a communications interface 324 programmed to transmit data from at least one of the physiological sensors 322. For example, the physiological sensors 322 may include one or more of a heart rate monitor, an oxygen monitor (e.g., a pulse oximeter), a thermometer, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a position sensor, a Global Positioning System, a clock, a galvanic skin response (GSR) sensor, or any other electrical, acoustic, optical, or other sensor or combination of sensors and the like useful for physiological monitoring, environmental monitoring, or other monitoring as described herein. In one aspect, the physiological sensors 322 may include a conductivity sensor or the like used for electromyography, electrocardiography, electroencephalography, or other physiological sensing based on electrical signals. The data received from the physiological sensors 322 may include at least one of heart rate data, muscle oxygen saturation data, temperature data, movement data, position/location data, environmental data, temporal data, and so on.

[0067] In one aspect, a module 320 may be configured for use on multiple body locations. For example, the module 320 may be one of the wrist-worn sensors described above. The module 320 may be adapted for use with a garment 310 in various ways. In one aspect, the module 320 may have relatively smooth, continuous exterior surfaces to facilitate sliding into and out of a pocket, such as any of the pockets described herein, or any other suitable retaining structure(s). In another aspect, an LED and/or sensor region may protrude from a surface of the module 320 sufficiently to extend beyond a restraining garment material and into a contact surface of a user. The module 320 may also include hardware to facilitate such uses. For example, a module 320 may usefully incorporate a contact sensor for detecting contact with a user. However, the exposed contact surfaces of the module 320 may be different when retained by a wrist strap (or other limb strap) than when retained by a garment pocket. To facilitate multiple retaining modes, the module 320 may usefully incorporate two or more contact sensors (such as capacitive sensors or other touch sensors, switches, or the like) at two different locations, each positioned to detect contact with a wearer in a different retaining mode. For example, a module 320 may include a capacitive sensor adjacent to an optical sensing system that contacts the user's skin when the module 320 is retained with a wrist strap. The module 320 may also or instead optically detect contact when the capacitive sensor is covered by a garment fabric or the like that prevents direct skin contact, or a second capacitive sensor may be placed within another region exposed by the garment 310 retaining system. In another aspect, the garment 310 may include a capacitive sensor that provides a signal to the module 320, or to some other system controller or the like, when a region of the garment near the module 320 is in contact with a user's skin.

[0068] In one aspect, the physiological sensors 322 may include a heart rate monitor or pulse sensor, e.g., where heart rate is optically detected from an artery, such as the radial artery. In one embodiment, the garment 310 may be configured such that a module 320 is positioned on a user's wrist, where a physiological sensor 322 of the module 320 is secured over the user's radial artery or other blood vessel. Secure connection and placement of a pulse sensor over the radial artery or other blood vessel facilitates measurement of heart rate, pulse oxygen, and the like. It will be understood that this configuration is provided by way of example only, and that other sensors, sensor positions, and monitoring techniques may also or instead be employed without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0069] In some embodiments, heart rate data may be acquired using an optical sensor coupled with one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs), all in contact with the user 301. To facilitate optical sensing, the garment 310 may be designed to maintain a physiological sensor 322 in secure, continual contact with the skin, and reduce interference of outside light with optical sensing by the physiological sensor 322.

[0070] Thus, certain embodiments include one or more physiological sensors 322 configured to provide continuous measurements of heart rate using photoplethysmography or the like. The physiological sensor 322 may include one or more light emitters for emitting light at one or more desired frequencies toward the user's skin, and one or more light detectors for received light reflected from the user's skin. The light detectors may include a photo-resistor, a photo-transistor, a photo-diode, and the like. A processor may process optical data from the light detector(s) to calculate a heart rate based on the measured, reflected light. The optical data may be combined with data from one or more motion sensors, e.g., accelerometers and/or gyroscopes, to minimize or eliminate noise in the heart rate signal caused by motion or other artifacts. The physiological sensor 322 may also or instead provide at least one of continuous motion detection, environmental temperature sensing, electrodermal activity (EDA) sensing, galvanic skin response (GSR) sensing, and the like.

[0071] The system 300 may include different types of modules 320. For example, a number of different modules 320 may each provide a particular function. Thus, the garment 310 may house one or more of a temperature module, a heart rate/PPG module, a muscle oxygen saturation module, a haptic module, a wireless communication module, or combinations thereof, any of which may be integrated into a single module 320 or deployed in separate modules 320 that can communicate with one another. Some measurements such as temperature, motion, optical heart rate detection, and the like, may have preferred or fixed locations, and pockets or fixtures within the garment 310 may be adapted to receive specific types of modules 320 at specific locations within the garment 310. For example, motion may preferentially be detected at or near extremities while heart rate data may preferentially be gathered near major arteries. In another aspect, some measurements such as temperature may be measured anywhere, but may preferably be measured at a single location in order to avoid certain calibration issues that might otherwise arise through arbitrary placement.

[0072] In another aspect, the system 300 may include two or more modules 320 placed at different locations and configured to perform differential signal analysis. For example, the rate of pulse travel and the degree of attenuation in a cardiac signal may be detected using two or more modules at two or more locations, e.g., at the bicep and wrist of a user, or at other locations similarly positioned along an artery. These multiple measurements support a differential analysis that permits useful inferences about blood pressure, heart strength, pliability of circulatory pathways, and other aspects of the cardiovascular system that may indicate cardiac age, cardiac health, cardiac conditions, and so forth. Similarly, muscle activity detection might be measured at different locations to facilitate a differential analysis for identifying activity types, determining muscular fitness, and so forth. More generally, multiple sensors can facilitate differential analysis. To facilitate this type of analysis with greater precision, the garment infrastructure may include a beacon or clock for synchronizing signals among multiple modules, particularly where data is temporarily stored locally at each module, or where the data is transmitted to a processor from different locations wirelessly where packet loss, latency, and the like may present challenges to real time processing.

[0073] The communications interface 324 may be any as described herein, for example including any of the features of the network interface 304 described above. The communications interface 324 may be a separate device that provides the ability for the modules 320 to communicate with one another and/or with other components of the system 300), or there may be a central module that communicates with other modules 320 (or with another component of the system 300). It will be understood that communications may usefully be secured using any suitable encryption technology in order to ensure privacy and security of user data. This may, for example, include encryption for local (wired or wireless) communications among the modules 320 and/or controller 330 within the garment 310. This may also or instead include encryption for remote communications to a server and other remote resources. In one aspect, the garment 310 and/or controller 330 may provide a cryptographic infrastructure for securing local communications, e.g., by managing public/private key pairs for use in asymmetric encryption, authentication, digital signatures, and so forth. The keys for this infrastructure may also or instead be managed by an external, trusted third-party.

[0074] The controller 330 may be configured, e.g., by computer executable code or the like, to determine a location of the module 320. This may be based on contextual measurements such as accelerometer data from the module 320, which may be analyzed by a machine learning model or the like to infer a body position. In another aspect, this may be based on other signals from the module 320. For example, signals from sensors such as photodiodes, temperature sensors, resistors, capacitors, and the like may be used alone or in combination to infer a body position. In another aspect, the location may be determined based on a proximity of a module 320 to a proximity sensor, RFID tag, or the like at or near one of the designated areas 312 of the garment 310. Based on the location, the controller 330 may adapt operation of the module 320 for location-specificoperation. This may include selecting filters, processing models, physiological signal detections, and the like. It will be understood that operations of the controller 330, which may be any controller, microcontroller, microprocessor, or other processing circuitry, or the like, may be performed in cooperation with another component of the system 300 such as the processor 340 described herein, one or more of the modules 320, or another computing device. It will also be understood that the controller 330 may be located on a local component of the system 300 (e.g., on the garment 310, in a module 320, and so on) or as part of a remote processing facility 350, or some combination of these. Thus, in an aspect, a controller 330 is included in at least one of the plurality of modules 320. And, in another aspect, the controller 330 is a separate component of the garment 310, and serves to integrate functions of the various modules 320 connected thereto. The controller 330 may also or instead be remote relative to each of the plurality of modules 320, or some combination of these.

[0075] Location detection may also usefully be recorded and used in a number of ways by a human user and/or by the system 300. For example, a detected location may be stored, along with the corresponding garment, so that a user can retrieve a placement history and replace the module 320 to a previous location for a particular garment as desired. In another aspect, the detected location may be used by the system 300 to analyze data and make garment specific recommendations. For example, the system 300 may evaluate the quality of a signal, e.g., using any conventional metrics such as signal-to-noise ratio, or using quality metrics more specific to physiological signals such as correlation to an expected signal or pulse shape, consistency with a rate or magnitude typical for a sensor, pulse-to-pulse consistency for a particular user, or any other measure of signal quality using statics, machine learning, digital signal processing techniques, or the like. A quality metric, however derived, may be used in turn to recommend specific placements of a module 320 on a garment 310 for a user, or to recommend a particular garment 310 for the user. Thus, for example, after acquiring data over a range of garments and activities, the system 300 may generate a user-actionable recommendation such as, "It appears that when you are jogging, the most accurate heart rate signals can be obtained when you are wearing an XL shirt model number xxxxxx. You may wish to wear this shirt for active workouts, and you may wish to purchase more of this type of shirt for regular use." Or, "It appears that one of your modules is not obtaining accurate temperature readings when located on your sleeve elastic band. You may wish to try a different location for this module, or to try a different garment." More generally, data quality may be measured for a number of different modules at different locations in different garments during different activities, and this data may be used to generate customized recommendations for a user on a per-garment and per-location basis. These recommendations may also be tailored to specific activity types where this data is accurately recorded by the system 300, either from user input, automatic detection, or some combination of these.

[0076] The controller 330 may be configured to control one or more of 0) sensing performed by a physiological sensor 322 of the module 320 and (ii) processing by the module 320 of the data received from a physiological sensor 322. That is, in certain aspects, the combination of sensors in the module 320 may vary based on where it is intended to be located on a garment 310. In another aspect, processing of data from a module 320 may vary based on where it is located on a garment 310. In this latter aspect, a processing resource such as the controller 330 or some other local or remote processing resource coupled to the module 320 may detect the location and adapt processing of data from the module 320 based on the location This may, for example, include a selection of different models, algorithms, or parameters for processing sensed data.

[0077] In another aspect, this may include selecting from among a variety of different activity recognition models based on the detected location. For example, a variety of different activity recognition models may be developed such as machine learning models, lookup tables, analytical models, or the like, which may be applied to accelerometer data to detect an activity type. Other motion data such as gyroscope data may also or instead be used, and activity recognition processes may also be augmented by other potentially relevant data such as data from a barometer, magnetometer, GPS system, and so forth. This may generally discriminate, e.g., between being asleep, at rest, or in motion, or this may discriminate more finely among different types of athletic activity such as walking, running, biking, swimming, playing tennis, playing squash, and so forth. While useful models may be developed for detecting activities in this manner, the nature of the detection will depend upon where the accelerometers are located on a body. Thus, a processing resource may usefully identify location first using location detection systems (such as tags, electromechanical bus connections, etc.) built into the garment 310, and then use this detected location to select a suitable model for activity recognition. This technique may similarly be applied to calibration models, physiological signals processing models, and the like, or to otherwise adapt processing of signals from a module 320 based on the location of the module 320.

[0078] Determining the location of a module 320 may include receiving a sensed location for the module 320. The sensed location may be provided by a proximity detection circuit such as a near-field-communication (NEC) tag, an (active or passive) RFID tag, a capacitance sensor, a magnetic sensor, an electrical contact, a mechanical contact, and the like. Any corresponding hardware for such proximity detections may be disposed on the module 320 and the garment 310 for communication therebetween to detect location when appropriate. For example, in one aspect, an NFC tag may be disposed on or within the garment 310, and the module may include an NFC tag sensor 320 that can detect the tag and read any location-specific information therefrom. Proximity detection may also or instead be performed using capacitively detected contact, electromagnetically detected proximity, mechanical contact, electrical coupling, and the like. In this manner, a garment 310 may provide information to an installed module 320 to inform the module 320, among other things, where the module 320 is located, or vice-versa.

[0079] Thus, communication between a module 320 and the garment 310 (or a processor of the garment 310) may be used to determine the location of a module 320 on the garment 310. Communication of location information may be enabled using active techniques, passive techniques, or a combination thereof For example, a thin, flexible, cheap, washable NEC tag (or other similar tag) may be sewn into the garment 310 (or otherwise attached) in various locations where a module 320 may be placed. When a module 320 is placed in the garment 310, the module 320 may query an adjacent NFC tag to determine its location. Furthermore, the NEC technique or other similar techniques may provide other information to the module 320, including details about the garment 310 such as the size, whether it is a gender specific piece, the manufacturer information, model or serial number of the garment, stock keeping unit (SKU), and more. Similarly, the tag may encode a unique identifier for the garment 310 that can be used to obtain other relevant information using an online resource. The tag may also or instead include a unique identifier that is linked to the individual user, and that serves to authenticate the user and/or allow data from the module 320 to be associated with the individual user for any module 320 that connects with the tag The module 320 may also or instead advertise information about itself to the garment 310 so that the garment 310 can synchronize processing with other modules 320, synchronize communication among modules 320, control or condition signals from the module 320, and so forth. The module 320 can then configure itself within the context of the current garment 310 and associated modules 320, and/or to perform certain types of monitoring or data processing.

[0080] Determining the location of a module 320 may also or instead be based, at least in part, on an interpretation of the data received from a physiological sensor 322 of the module 320. By way of example, movement of a module 320 as detected by a sensor may provide information that can be used to predict a position on or within the garment 310. Also or instead, the type of data that is being received from a module 320 may indicate where the module 320 is located on the garment 310. For example, locations may produce unique signatures of acceleration, gyroscope activity, capacitive data, optical data, temperature data, and the like, depending on where the module 320 is located, and this data may be fused and analyzed in any suitable manner to obtain a location prediction.

[0081] According to the foregoing, determining the location of a module 320 may also or instead include receiving explicit input from the user 301, which may identify one of the designated areas on the garment 310, or a general area of the body (e.g., left wrist, right ankle, and so forth). Because the location of the module 320 relative to the garment 310 may be determined from an analysis of a plurality of data sources, the system 300 may include a component (e.g., the processor 340) that is configured to reconcile one or more potential sources of location of information based on expected reliability, measured quality of data, express user input, and so forth. A prediction confidence may also usefully be generated in this context, which may be used, for example, to determine whether a user should be queried for more specific location information. More generally, any of the foregoing techniques may be used alone or in combination, along with a failsafe measure the requests user input when location cannot confidently be predicted. Also or instead, a user may explicitly specify a prediction preemptively, or as an override to an automatically generated prediction.

[0082] Once determined using any of the techniques above, the location of a module 320 may be transmitted for storage and analysis to a remote processing facility 350, a database 360, or the like. That is, in addition to the module 320 using this information locally to configure itself for the location in which it is worn, the module 320 may communicate this information to other modules 320, peripherals, or the cloud. Processing this information in the cloud may help an organization determine if a module 320 has ever been installed on a garment 310, which locations are most used, and how modules 320 perform differently in different locations. These analytics may be useful for many purposes, and may, for example, be used to improve the design or use of modules 320 and garments 310, either for a population, for a user type, or for a particular user.

[0083] As stated above, the system 300 may further include a processor 340 and a memory 342. In general, the memory 342 may bear computer executable code configured to be executed by the processor 340 to perform processing of the data received from one or more modules 320. One or more of the processor 340 and the memory 342 may be located on a local component of the system 300 (e.g., the garment 310, a module 320, the controller 330, and the like) or as part of a remote processing facility 350 or the like as shown in the figure. Thus, in an aspect, one or more of the processor 340 and the memory 342 is included on at least one of the plurality of modules 320. In this manner, processing may be performed on a central module, or on each module 320 independently. In another aspect, one or more of the processor 340 and the memory 342 is remote relative to each of the plurality of modules 320. For example, processing may be performed on a connected peripheral device such as smart phone, laptop, local computer, or cloud resource.

[0084] The memory 342 may store one or more algorithms, models, and supporting data (e.g., parameters, calibration results, user selections, and so forth) and the like for transforming data received from a physiological sensor 322 of the module 320. In this manner, suitable models, algorithms, tuning parameters, and the like may be selected for use in transforming the data based on the location of the module 320 as determined by the controller 330 and/or processor 340 as described herein. By way of example, algorithms that convert data from an accelerometer in a module 320 into a count of a user's steps may be different depending on whether the module 320 is worn on the user's wrist or on the user's waist band. Similarly, the intensity of an LED and corresponding sensitivity of a photodetector may be different for a PPG device placed on the wrist or the thigh. Thus, the module 320 may self-configure for a location by controlling one or more of sensor types, sensor parameters, processing models, and so forth based on a detected location for the module 320.

[0085] Selection of an algorithm may also or instead include an analysis of one or more of the sensor data, metadata, and the like. By way of example, an algorithm may be selected at least in part based on metadata received from one of the module 320 and the garment 310. This metadata may be derived from communication between the module 320 and the garment 310 e.g., between a tag and tag reader for exchanging information therebetween. For example, the garment 310 may include stored in a tag garment-specific metadata that is readable by or otherwise transmittable to one or more of the plurality of modules 320, the controller 330, and the processor 340. Such garment-specific metadata may include at least one of a type of garment 310, a size of the garment 310, garment dimensions, a gender configuration of the garment 310, a manufacturer, a model number, a serial number, a SKU, a material, fit information, and so on. In one aspect, this information may be provided with one or more of the location identification tags described herein. In another aspect, the garment 310 may include an additional tag at a suitable location (e.g., near or accessible to a processor or controller) that provides garment-specific information while other tags provide location-specific information.

[0086] The metadata may also or instead include at least one of a gender of the user 301, a weight of the user 301, a height of the user 301, an age of the user 301, metadata associated with the garment 310 (e.g., the garment size, type, material, etc.), and the like. The metadata may be derived, at least in part, from user-provided input, or otherwise from information derived from the user 301 such as a user's account information as a participant in the system 300. By way of example, a processing algorithm may be selected depending on the material of the garment 301 as communicated by its serial or model number in an identification tag, the physiology of the user 301 as implied by the garment size, and so on. The metadata may also or instead be used to verify the authenticity of the garment 310, and otherwise control access to the garment 310 and/or modules 320 coupled to the garment 310. In one aspect, metadata (e.g., size, material) may be encoded directly into the garment metadata. In another aspect, the garment 310 may publish a unique identifier that can be used to retrieve related information from a manufacturer or other data source. This latter approach advantageously permits correlation of garment-specific data with other user-specific data such as height, weight, body composition, and so forth.

[0087] Simply knowing a priori where a module 320 is positioned may allow for the use of algorithms that have been developed to perform optimally in that particular location. This can relieve a significant computational burden otherwise borne by the module 320 to analytically evaluate location based on available signals. Other information may also or instead be used to select an optimal algorithm. For example, based on the gender or dimensions of a garment, the algorithm may employ different models or different model parameters.

[0088] The processor 340 may be configured to assess the quality of the data received from a physiological sensor 322 of the module 320. For example, the processor 340 may be configured to provide, based on the quality of the data, a recommendation regarding at least one of the location of a module 320 and an aspect of the garment 310 (e.g., size, fit, material, and so on). For example, the processor 340 may be configured to detect when the garment does not properly fit the wearer for acquisition of physiological data, for example, by detecting when a module is moving (e.g., from accelerometer data) but data quality is poor or absent for a sensed physiological signal. In general, the garment 310 may store its own identifier and/or metadata, e.g., as described herein, or garment identification data may be stored in tags, e.g., at designated areas 312 of the garment 310. The processor 340 may be configured to use this garment identification information and/or metadata to provide a recommendation regarding a different garment 310 for the user 301, or for an adjustment to the current garment 310. For example, if a particular garment 310 seems to result in low-quality data, the user 301 could be encouraged to select an alternative size, or to make some other adjustment. Moreover, data on how many times a garment 301 is used may be gathered and used to inform business decisions, for example, which garments 301 provide the highest-quality data, and which garments 310 are most preferred by users 301.

[0089] The system 300 may further include a database 360, which may be located remotely and in communication with the system 300 via the data network 302. The database 360 may store data related to the system 300 such as any discussed herein e.g., sensed data, processed data, transformed data, metadata, physiological signal processing models and algorithms, personal activity history, and the like. The system 300 may further include one or more servers 370 that host data, provide a user interface, process data, and so forth in order to facilitate use of the modules 320 and garments 310 as described herein.

[00901 It will be appreciated that the garment 310, modules 320, and accompanying garment infrastructure and remote networking/processing resources, may advantageously be used in combination to improve physiological monitoring and achieve modes of monitoring not previously available.

[0091] Several factors should be balanced and optimized for functional locations. First, the location should have sufficient signal quality (e.g., blood flow near the surface for a PPG sensor) to operate properly. Second, the location should be compatible with the type of movement associated with a garment (e.g., not inhibit motion(s) important to the intended activity or cause discomfort). Third, locations with lower movement may be preferred to reduce the signal noise in a PPG sensor. Fourth, the location should allow for substantially consistent tension to be applied during use and across different body types to enable substantially consistent measurements. Below are several non-exhaustive examples of garment types and locations that address these factors and others to enable substantially effective data collection.

[0092] Examples can include particular sport uniforms (e.g., subject to certain regulations) that may not allow the device in a particular location during official games and/or practice due to safety concerns or other regulations. For example, most martial arts prohibit any device on the wrist and/or forearm. Other sport uniforms may have a preference in a location of the device due to an already existing device. For example, football uniforms may include a transmission between shoulder blades that can also be a prime location for physiological monitoring devices. The device may also or instead be a part of a uniform that already has substantially firm contact with skin such as any kind of helmet (e.g., military equipment). In this case, the front and/or side of the head can be a candidate location for a physiological monitoring device. Other types of locations may stem from the special type of movement and/or the other interests for the monitoring device and opportunity to combine multiple applications. An example of such a location is bike shorts and/or bike bibs where the tight-fit location of this garment can be used for multiple applications for muscle oxygenation on a major muscle for the sport and/or a heart rate monitor. A few other locations can be considered due to the limitation of a particular sport and/or environment. For example, the wrist location may not be appreciated for swimming due to the water impact. A more appropriate location may instead be the side torso for a female swimsuit or a glute muscle for a male swimsuit, where such locations may minimize drag and/or allow for acceptable contact and signal quality. Particular locations such as the glute and side torso may be particularly beneficial for general activities due to much less motion (e.g., less motion artifact during motion) and/or the ability to collect more physiologically relevant data (e.g., collecting core temperature from a side torso compared to the same data stream from the wrist). The accelerometer data from the location of the strap also can also or instead be used to capture more detailed physiological information for more narrow applications. For example, the thigh location in a bike short can be used to calculate the muscular output (compared to cardiac output) to measure the performance of a particular muscle and sport specific fitness (compared to cardiac output is a measure of general fitness).

[0093] It will be understood that the garment examples included below are non-exhaustive, and that others are also or instead possible. It will be further understood that locations for physiological monitors as described below as being possible and/or preferred for certain garments may also or instead be possible and/or preferred in certain other garments, and should thus be considered as part of this disclosure, even if not expressly referred to below. Further, it will be understood that the garments and locations for physiological monitors (e.g., monitors using PPG, ECG, and/or other techniques for physiological monitoring) may also or instead be suitable for other types of sensors such as gyroscopes, accelerometers, location sensors, arid so on (where such sensors can be integral with, independent from, coupled to, etc., a physiological monitor).

[0094] Swimsuits [0095] Fig. 4 shows a garment with a plurality of modules. In particular, Fig. 4 shows a plurality of modules 400 that may include one or more physiological sensors therein, such as any of those described herein suitable for substantially continuous monitoring of one or more physiological attributes of a wearer. The location of the modules 400 may vary based on the garment worn and the fit, size, and physiological regions covered by the garment. Specific locations are shown but these locations are not exhaustive, and the modules 400 may be placed in theory anywhere on or within the garment. As shown in Fig. 4, a garment may include a plurality of predetermined locations where a sensor may be placed, thus allowing a user to pick locations that are most comfortable or generally desirable to the user based on need. The location of the modules 400 may include regions where the sensor can accurately and advantageously collect data. Below are several non-exhaustive garments in the form of swimwear and examples of module 400 integration incorporated therein. Although several locations of modules 400 are shown, other locations are possible, and in theory the modules 400 could be included anywhere.

[0096] An example of a wetsuit will now be described. A wetsuit is generally a form fitting garment used in water sports to stay warm while wet. A wetsuit may cover most of a wearer's body, with possible exceptions being the hands, feet, and head. The length of the arm and leg sleeve mays also vary between styles. Wearers may also use wetsuit boots, gloves, and a hood, which may be a separate garment or attached to the wetsuit. The modules 400 on a wetsuit may be located on a chest region 402 of a wearer, an upper arm region 404 of a wearer (e.g., a bicep), a lower arm region 406 of a wearer (e.g., including inner forearm), on or around a waistband region 408, a thigh region 410 of a wearer, a lower leg region 412 of a wearer (in some aspects, preferentially not on the shin), on the backside of the wearer (in some aspects, preferentially the glute region), a neck region of a wearer, a head region of a wearer (in some aspects, preferentially the forehead and/or side temples), a hand and/or foot region, a side torso region, and so on, where it will be understood that these locations may also or instead be used for other garments besides wetsuits including any as described herein. Preferred sensor location may vary based on factors such as but not limited to the wetsuit style, construction, and use cases. For example, a user wearing a wetsuit for a sport such as a surfing may not want a sensor on their chest region 402 due to being uncomfortable while paddling on a surfboard, or a diver may not want any sensors on the backside as it may interfere with an oxygen tank or other gear. Other module locations may also or instead be possible in such garments.

[0097] An example of boardshorts and/or casual swim trunks will now be described. Boardshorts and/or casual swim trunks are examples of swimwear that can incorporate one or more wearable, physiological sensors therein or thereon. In many aspects, these garments are loose and not particularly form-fitting, and thus, placement of a physiological sensor may advantageously avoid areas where contact with a wearer's skin could be inconsistent or nonexistent. Thus, an example of a suitable location for a module 400 in such a garment may include the waistband region 408 of a wearer, which may be an area that is substantially formfitting within boardshorts and/or swim trunks. Also or instead, one or more modules 400 may be disposed in a liner on the thigh region 410, backside, or the like, where such a liner is typically included beneath an exterior material of these garments, and where the liner may be substantially form-fitting. Other module locations may also or instead be possible in such garments. The waist location may have an advantage of substantially less motion artifacts during swimming. Another example of a proper location for swimwear is in the side torso region. The water interaction with the sensor in the side torso may be significantly less than the wrist during swimming. This can reduce drag and motion artifacts and improve the signal quality.

[0098] An example of swim briefs will now be described. Swim briefs are an example of swimwear that can incorporate one or more wearable, physiological sensors therein or thereon. Swim briefs are generally tight-fitting bottoms that cover the groin region, backside, and in some aspects, part of a wearer's legs (e.g., the thigh region 410). Swim briefs may come in various lengths and may also or instead be used as an undergarment for aquatic and/or non-aquatic activities. As such, compared to other garments, swim briefs may include relatively little material. To this end, swim briefs may include modules 400 on or around the waistband region 408, the thigh region 410, and/or a backside region, all of which can reduce drag as compared to a wrist location. Several module locations may be provided to allow a swimmer to select the region that will offer the least drag for a given stroke (e.g., thigh for the backstroke). Swim briefs come in various lengths that may vary the sensor location availability by style. Swim briefs may also or instead be used as an undergarment for both aquatic and non-aquatic activities. Other module locations may also or instead be possible in such garments.

[0099] An example ofjammers will now be discussed. Jammers are generally formfitting swimsuits with some compression covering the user from the waist to above the knee, or similar. Jammers may also be used as an undergarment by some users. The compression of the fabric against the user may be favorable to sensors by accommodating more consistent readings. The modules 400 on jammer swimsuits may have locations on or around the waistband region 408, the thigh region 410, and/or a backside region. Other module locations may also or instead be possible in such garments.

[0100] Fig. 4 also shows an example of a smart garment system 401 that includes a plurality of garments, where modules 400 may be disposed in one or more of these garments. It will be understood that the smart garment system 401 of Fig. 4 may include any of the features described with reference to other systems disclosed herein (such as the system 300 of Fig. 3), and vice-versa.

[0101] The system 401 may include a plurality of garments including at least a first garment 421 and a second garment 422-e.g., a top and a bottom (although any of the garments described here can be used in addition or alternatively). The system 401 may further include one or more modules 400, where it will be understood that these modules 400 can include a physiological monitor such as any as described herein. That is, the system 401 may further include a module 400 in the form of a physiological monitor including one or more physiological sensors (such as any as described herein) and a communications interface (such as any as described herein, e.g., the communications interface 324 of Fig. 3). The physiological monitor (e.g., using the communications interface) may be programmed to transmit data from at least one of its physiological sensors to an external device such as a user device (e.g., a smartphone), a remote server, and/or another communication device that can relay this data to a remote server for local and/or remote processing thereof [0102] The system 401 may include one or more pockets 430 included on or within each of the first garment 421 and the second garment 422. Each of the one or more pockets 430 may be sized and shaped to receive at least a portion of the physiological monitor therein. Each of the one or more pockets 430 may include at least one elastic layer structurally configured to urge the one or more physiological sensors of the physiological monitor toward skin of a wearer of at least one of the first garment 421 and the second garment 422. In certain aspects, at least one of the plurality of garments includes an outer layer structurally configured to fit on the wearer in a non-compressible manner, and an inner layer coupled to the outer layer. The inner layer may have an elasticity such that at least a portion of the inner layer compresses against skin of the wearer and is thereby more tightly fitting on the wearer of the garment than the outer layer. To this end, a pocket of the one or more pockets 430 may be disposed within one or more designated areas/regions on the inner layer.

[0103] The system 401 may include a detection element 440 disposed on or within at least one of the one or more pockets 430, or otherwise in proximity to the one or more pockets 430. It will be understood that, in some aspects, the detection element 440 may include some or all of the functionality of one or more of the controller 330 and the communications interface 324 described above with reference to Fig. 3. Turning back to Fig. 4, the detection element 440 may be configured to perform at least one of (i) detecting a presence or absence of the physiological monitor, and (ii) communicating data to at least one of a physiological monitor and an external device.

[0104] In some aspects, the detection element 440 includes an identifier for identifying at least one of: a garment in which the detection element 440 is disposed, and the wearer of the garment in which the detection element 440 is disposed. In some aspects, the detection element 440 includes a radio frequency identification (AHD) tag or the like. In some aspects, the detection element 440 includes at least one of a near-field-communication (NEC) tag, a capacitance sensor, a magnetic sensor, an electrical contact, a mechanical contact, and the like.

[0105] In some aspects, the detection element 440 includes a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a physiological monitor. For example, in such aspects, when the detection element 440 senses the presence of a physiological monitor, the detection element 440 may be programmed to communicate a location of the physiological monitor to one or more of the physiological monitor and an external device. This location may include a specific region of a garment in which the detection element 440 is disposed. In some aspects, sensing performed by a physiological monitor is controlled dependent upon the location of the physiological monitor. In some aspects, one or more of a sensor type, a sensor parameter, and a processing model may be selected at least in part based on the location of a physiological monitor. In some aspects, the location of the physiological monitor is used at least in part to determine an activity being performed by the wearer, e.g., when combined with motion data or other data.

[0106] In some aspects, using the detection element 440, data related to a number of uses may be transmitted to at least one of a physiological monitor and an external device. This may be useful, e.g., to determine whether a garment and/or pocket 430 is still suitable for acquiring desired data when used in conjunction with a physiological monitor.

[0107] As shown in the figure, the system 40! may include a plurality of modules 400, which again, may be in the form of physiological monitors as described herein. That is, in some aspects, the system 401 may include a plurality of physiological monitors including at least a first monitor and a second monitor disposed in different locations / regions-e.g., where the first monitor is located in a first region of either the first garment 421 or the second garment 422, and where the second monitor is located in a second region of either the first garment 421 or the second garment 422. This may include any of the regions described with reference to this figure and/or throughout this disclosure. In this example, the first region may be different from the second region. At least some of the plurality of physiological monitors the first monitor and the second monitor in this example may be programmed to perform a differential analysis based on a sensed physiological parameter of a wearer of a smart garment. In some aspects, the differential analysis is used in an analysis related to blood pressure of the wearer. In some aspects, the differential analysis is used in an analysis related to at least one of heart strength and a pliability of one or more circulatory pathways of the wearer. In this manner, based on the aforementioned analysis, information may be transmitted to the wearer related to at least one of cardiac age, cardiac health, a cardiac condition, and the like. In some aspects, the differential analysis is used in an analysis related to at least one of identifying an activity and determining muscular fitness.

[0108] To assist in a differential analysis (or otherwise), the system 401 may further include a beacon 442, which may be configured to synchronize signals from the first monitor and the second monitor in the example(s) described above. The beacon 442 may be included on a physiological monitor itself, e.g., at least one of the first monitor and the second monitor.

[0109] Furthering the example of where there is a first monitor and a second monitor in the system 401, in certain aspects, the first monitor and the second monitor may communicate with one another. Also or instead, in some aspects, the first monitor and the second monitor may be programmed to perform different sensing operations based on location. In some aspects, the first monitor is located on the first garment, and the second monitor is located on the second garment. However, it will be understood that these monitors may be located on the same garment and/or in the same or different regions.

[0110] In some aspects, data from at least one of the physiological sensors is monitored for signal quality. In some aspects, based on the signal quality being below a predetermined threshold, a notification may be sent to the wearer related to at least one of garment type, garment size, garment fit, garment age, garment usage, location of the physiological sensor, and the like.

[0111] Fig. 5. shows a bikini garment with a plurality of modules. A bikini is generally a swimsuit with two pieces where the top piece typically functions as a covering for a chest region (e.g., breasts) of a wearer, and includes straps traversing from a front to the back of the wearer, and where the bottom piece typically has fabric covering the pelvis in the front and fabric covering at least a portion in the back, where these sections are connected by fabric along a waist region. There exist several bikini variations with a variety of strap and fabric locations. For example, the tankini style is a variation where the top is in the style of a tank top with additional fabric covering the stomach area and back region of a wearer. For a bikini, there may be limited available material, and thus one or more modules 500 may be disposed on a bra cup region 502, a supporting portion 506 of the bra cup region 502 (which may be disposed above, below, and/or alongside the bra cup region 502), on or around straps 504 such as shoulder straps, on or around a back portion 508, and/or on or around a waistband region 510 (or otherwise along the bottom piece of the bikini) The locations that generally have higher blood flow, less pressure during daily activity, and less muscle mass (such as the waistband region) may be preferred in certain implementations for physiological monitoring. Other module locations may also or instead be possible in such garments.

[0112] Fig. 6 shows a front view 600 and a back view 602 of a one-piece swimsuit with a plurality of modules 604. A one-piece swimsuit is typically a form-fitting garment made of fabric that covers the torso, pelvis, and chest. The upper chest and/or upper back may not have fabric in some styles. To this end, there is a large variety of one-piece swimsuits styles and therefore each style may have different potential locations for a module 604 depending on the location of the fabric and/or straps. A one-piece swimsuit may have locations on or around the straps 606, on the chest region 608, on the waist region 610, and/or the back region 612 of a wearer. Other locations can include the side torso, between shoulder blades, between pectoral muscles, and so on. Other module locations may also or instead be possible in such garments.

[0113] Physiological sensors, such as those that may be included in the modules within garments described herein, can collect various types of data, including physiological data and data that may be unrelated to a wearer's physiology. Below are several non-exhaustive examples of how such data may be used. Environmental conditions such as water temperature and air temperature data may be acquired by sensors in a module, e.g., where this data may be used to analyze and evaluate how water and air temperature affects a user's performance. Location data may be gained from a sensor and used in several ways including but not limited to tracking a position in a race, calculating speed, and/or calculating race and lap times. Location data may also or instead be useful for tracking users as a safety measure, in one example, location and position data may be used for surfers to track how many waves they catch in a session, their speed on a wave, and/or their speed when paddling. This location data may also be combined with physiological data, such as heart rate data and muscle oxygen saturation data, so that surfers may compare their paddling and surfing performance to their heart rate, muscle oxygen saturation, and/or other physiological data. This feedback may also or instead be transmitted from a module to a user in real-time so that the user may adjust their effort as needed given their real-time physiological data. Accelerometer and gyroscopic data may be used to identify movements or techniques that a surfer may perform such as turns or airs, and physiological data taken at this time can be used to analyze and evaluate the user's performance during these movements. This method of using data gathered from the plurality of sensors to recognize specific actions and analyze and evaluate athletic performance may also or instead be more generally applied to other sports and activities. The user may swap out modules with different physiological sensors as desired so that they may customize the sensor data gathered to fit their needs.

[0114] Bodysuits [0115] Fig. 7 shows a full body suit with a plurality of modules 700. In particular, Fig 7 shows a plurality of modules 700 that may include one or more physiological sensors therein, such as any of those described herein suitable for substantially continuous monitoring of one or more physiological attributes of a wearer. A full bodysuit is generally a garment covering most of a wearer's body with the possible exception of the hands, feet, and head, although some styles may cover the hands, feet, head, and/or face. Full body suits are typically form-fitting which may help keep a sensor in place against a user's skin. Specific locations are shown but these locations are not exhaustive, and the modules 700 may be placed in theory anywhere on the garment. The modules 700 on a full body suit may be located on the head region 702, the neck region 704, the chest region 706, the upper ann. region 708, the lower arm region 710, the waist region 712, the thigh region 714, the lower leg region 716, and/or on the backside. Other module locations may also or instead be possible in such garments.

[0116] Gloves [0117] Fig. 8 shows a top view 800 and a bottom view 802 of glove garment with a plurality of modules 804. In particular, Fig. 8 shows a plurality of modules 804 that may include one or more physiological sensors therein, such as any of those described herein suitable for substantially continuous monitoring of one or more physiological attributes of a wearer. Specific locations are shown but these locations are not exhaustive, and the modules 804 may be placed in theory anywhere on the garment. The modules 804 may be placed on a top region 806 of the hand, on or along the fingers 808, in a palm region 810, and/or on a wrist region 812. The wrist may be a suitable location for one or more of the following reasons: this region may typically not be a contact point for activities; this region may have relatively low movement of the modules 804 relative to the wearer's skin; and/or gloves typically include a means for securing the wrist portion thereof to the wrist of the wearer, which may include but is not limited to use of an elastic band or the like. A module 804 located on the palm region 810 may typically not be desired in many cases as most users may prefer their palm to be free of obstruction so that their palm can be used. However, in cases such as but not limited to a boxing glove the palm region 810 may be a suitable location for a module as the ability to grip items within a hand may not be needed, and the module 804 would be secured and protected by the gloves. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a fingertip region may provide useful signal quality for certain sensors (including PPG sensors) and may be preferred in some applications. Other module locations may also or instead be possible in such gloves.

[0118] Below are several non-exhaustive examples of potential uses of physiological sensor data in gloves. Sensors on the wrist may collect a variety of physiological data and/or other data. Sensors in the palm and fingers may be used to calculate grip strength. Gyroscopes and accelerometers may be used to calculate hand movements and hand speed. In the case of the boxing, sensors may be used to calculate the force of punches. Hand movements and hand speed data may also be used in boxing to help improve the user's technique.

[0119] Headwear [0120] Fig. 9 shows a variety of helmets with plurality of modules 906. In particular, Fig. 9 shows a plurality of modules 906 that may include one or more physiological sensors therein, such as any of those described herein suitable for substantially continuous monitoring of one or more physiological attributes of a wearer. Specific locations are shown but these locations are not exhaustive, and the modules 906 may be placed in theory anywhere on the garment. Helmets are a garment worn on the head featuring a hard outer shell and, in some aspects, a padded inner layer 908. In some aspects the helmet may include a chin strap 910 that goes under the chin to secure the helmet to the user. In some aspects the inside of the helmet may also or instead include straps to help secure the helmet to a user's head. These straps may include padding. Some helmets may feature MIPS® on the inside of the helmet which is a slip-plane system designed to potentially slow or reduce the amount of energy transferred to or from the head from angled impacts to the helmet. There is a large variety of helmets with styles that change the helmet construction and other features depending on the use. A full-face helmet 900 may cover the head, ears, chin, cheeks, and face, and may also include a visor covering the face. There are also variations of the full-face helmet 900 for sports such as hockey and lacrosse where the full-face helmet 900 may feature a cage in place of a visor. An open-face helmet 902 may be similar to a full-face helmet 900 but, in some aspects, without chin protection and/or a visor. A modular full-face helmet is similar in structure to the hill-face helmet 900 but instead where the chin and/or visor may be removed or raised and lowered by the user, therefore converting the helmet to an open-face helmet 902. A half helmet 904 may have a similar front design as an open-faced helmet but without the lowered rear end which covers the ears and cheeks. Some examples of this style of helmet include bicycle helmets, skateboard helmets, rock climbing helmets, military-style helmets, hockey helmets, hard hats, and the like. The modules 906 may be placed on the inside of the front side 912 of a helmet so that they may come in contact with the user's forehead and/or side temples where there is an electrical signal and blood flow that can be used, and where these can be areas of relatively low motion. The modules 906 may also or instead be located on the outside of the helmet, the chin straps 910, affixed in theory anywhere to the padded inner layer 908, and/or attached to the inside of the helmet. It may be desirable to place the modules 906 in locations that will not affect the protection provided by the helmet. In one aspect, a module 906 may include a sensor such as a gyroscope and/or accelerometer than can measure forces experienced by the user. In the event of a crash or the like, these force measurements may be used to assess injuries to the user and/or assess how the helmet performed in the crash. Other module 906 locations may also or instead be possible in such helmets.

[0121] Hats come in multiple styles and variations. Hats are generally garments that cover the head of a wearer and may have a brim of some length, which may be in the front of the hat or the around the hat. Hats may also feature a sweatband and/or elastic band on the inner rim of the hat. The modules may be placed on the brim, along the inner rim, or along the inside of the portion covering the head. The modules may also or instead be affixed to anywhere on the outside of the hat. Modules may include one or more physiological sensors therein, such as any of those described herein suitable for substantially continuous monitoring of one or more physiological attributes of a wearer. Specific locations are described but these locations are not exhaustive, and the modules may be placed in theory anywhere on the garment. There is a variety of use cases for hats and each style may have a different form and function which may change potential module locations. For example, in the case of sterile caps such as a bouffant, which may be designed to cover the user's hair so that hair (or other contaminants) will not fall on sterile surfaces or the like, these caps may feature an elastic rim with loose material that covers the user's hair. Modules may be placed along or close to the rim so that they are secured against the user's head. Other module locations may also or instead be possible in such garments.

[0122] Fig. 10 shows a continuous headband 1000 and a non-continuous headband 1002 with a plurality of modules 1004. A headband is generally a garment worn in the hair or around the head that may be used for fashion and/or functional purposes. Headbands may be made from fabric and may include an elastic material to secure the headband to a wearer's head. Headbands may also or instead may be made with flexible plastic or metal, commonly in a horseshoe shape such as that for the non-continuous headband 1002. Fig. 10 shows a plurality of modules 1004 that may include one or more physiological sensors therein, such as any of those described herein suitable for substantially continuous monitoring of one or more physiological attributes of a wearer. Specific locations are shown but these locations are not exhaustive, and the modules 1004 may be placed in theory anywhere on the headband. Modules may be located on along an inside face 1006 and/or outside face 1008 of the headband. Other module locations may also or instead be possible in such garments.

[0123] Pads / cushions [0124] Fig. 11 shows a garment with a protective element 1102 having a plurality of modules 1100. Fabric 1104 may encase the protective element 1102 and/or the protective element 1102 may be attached to the outside of the fabric 1104. The protective element 1102 and/or fabric 1104 holding the protective element 1102 may be attached to the user with straps 1106 and/or using an elastic material or the like. The fabric 1104, straps 1106, and/or elastics may secure the protective element 1102 to the user. Some non-exhaustive examples of garments with a protective element include knee pads, elbow pads, helmets, headbands, gloves, and shin guards. Modules 1100 may be placed in or on the fabric 1104 that holds the protective element 1102 to the user. Modules 1100 be located on and/or within the fabric 1104 or straps 1106. Modules 1100 may also be affixed in or near the protective element 1102. Modules 1100 located in the protective element may be used to detect and measure the forces experienced by the protective element 1102. Other module locations may also or instead be possible in such garments.

[0125] Maternity clothing [0126] Maternity clothing is generally clothing designed for a pregnant wearer's changing body. This type of clothing may be made with a stretchable material to accommodate a changing body shape, e.g., featuring additional fabric compared to other clothing to accommodate a larger waist, hip, and/or chest region. Maternity clothing may feature one or more physiological sensors as described herein in any of the regions described herein with respect to other garments. Also or instead, maternity clothing may feature one or more physiological sensors that can sense attributes relating to a fetus being carried by the wearer of such garments [0127] Location optimization [0128] Some factors that influence the position of the sensor may include but are not limited to avoiding high movement locations, avoiding impact points, avoiding uncomfortable areas, and maximizing accuracy of the sensor. In an aspect, high movement locations may be avoided because they may affect sensing physiological and/or environmental data. In another aspect, impact points where the modules may experience a significant outside force may be avoided to avoid potential damage to the sensor and/or the user. Alternatively, these areas may be reinforced to minimize this risk. Locations that are uncomfortable to the user may be avoided. Placement of a physiological sensor may advantageously avoid areas where contact with a wearer's skin could be inconsistent or nonexistent. Garments with multiple sensor locations may be used to test for the best placement. A user interface may be used to help analyze and uncover preferred sensor locations.

[0129] Sterile/sealed enclosures [0130] Modules may be placed in a sterile and/or sealed enclosure within a garment or otherwise. These enclosures may allow an electrical path and/or optical sensing such as photoplethysmography (PPG) and/or electrocardiogram (ECG) and/or other electrical signals without allowing any fluids to penetrate the enclosure. In theory these enclosures may be placed on any location on any garment. These enclosures may be useful in applications such as but not limited to the food industry, laboratories, or medical services where sterility is desired. Enclosures where the sensors in the module use ECG (or other electrical signals) may use conductive polymers to provide the sensing path. Enclosures where the sensors in the module use PPG may use an optical window to provide the sensing path.

[0131] A sterile enclosure may be substantially sealed, for example, such that contaminants cannot enter the enclosure and/or escape from the enclosure to a surrounding (sterile) environment. In some aspects, the enclosure is hermetically sealed.

[0132] In an example, a version of a disposable latex glove according to the present teachings includes a sealable pocket at the wrist to allow insertion of a sensor module. The wrist area may be elastic with multiple sizes to allow for an appropriate level of pressure against the skin. For optical sensors, the sealed pocket may include a window of a different material that is transparent to the wavelengths employed by the optical sensor. For electrical sensors, the sealed pocket may include conductive polymer materials with appropriate impedance matching to the skin of the user to allow for signal collection.

[0133] Reusable modules [0134] Physiological sensors may be located in reusable modules. These modules may be attached to garments via an adhesive, and/or a hook and loop fastener, and/or may be disposed in a pocket. The modules or a portion thereof may also or instead be disposable.

[0135] The modules may have data contained thereon mapped to a unique user ID that can allow for the sensor's data to be correctly assigned to a user and easily accessed. In this manner, a module may be removed from a garment (e.g., for washing, charging, repair or other maintenance, for switching to another garment, for relocating within the same garment, and so on) and replaced while still maintaining an association with a particular user.

[0136] Non-compression garments having interior compression portion(s) [0137] The present teachings may include a garment that is compatible with one or more physiological monitoring devices as described herein, but where a portion of the garment-e.g., a majority of the garment, and/or an outer layer/portion of the garment is relatively loose fitting. For example, not all users are comfortable wearing compression garments, and not all environments and settings are appropriate for wearing compression garments. It may also or instead be desirable to have a looser-fitted aesthetic to suit a user's fashion tastes or similar. And, instead of simply covering a compression garment with other different and distinct clothing, the present teachings may include non-compression garments with one or more compression portions integrated thereon or therein.

[0138] By way of example, and as explained below, an aspect of the present teachings includes a non-compression garment having an interior compression portion disposed under (and coupled with) a looser, non-compression portion(s) or material(s). This may, for example, include a non-compression shirt with a compression sleeve that is sewn onto (or otherwise coupled to) one or both sleeves of the non-compression shirt. The compression sleeve (or other compression portions) may be structurally configured to be used with a physiological monitoring device-e.g., it may include a pocket, pod, or the like (such as any described herein or known in the art) suitable to receive, hold, and orient a physiological monitoring device and/or sensors thereof against or adjacent to a wearer's skin for sensing physiological attributes of the wearer of the garment. In this example, a physiological monitoring device may advantageously be disposed in one or both of the compression sleeves, with the result being a shirt that appears to be a loose-fit (athletic) shirt, while still providing suitable compression to hold a physiological monitoring device against the wearer's skin with appropriate force and stability for desirable sensing, data collection, and/or comfort. In this manner, a garment may be dual layered-with one or more inner compression portions coupled to an outer layer that forms a non-compression garment. This dual-layer approach may allow a garment to be optimized for aesthetics on the exterior while an interior portion is substantially optimized for performance of the sensor(s) of a physiological monitoring device.

[01391 By way of further example, and as explained below, an aspect of the present teachings includes a non-compression tank-top (or similar) having an interior compression portion (or layer) built into the tank-top e.g., where this interior compression portion can be structurally configured to function as a bra while also providing a location (e.g., on the side of the body) that is structurally configured to hold a physiological monitoring device against a wearer's skin with appropriate force and stability for desirable data collection and/or comfort. Similar to the above, this dual-layer approach can allow the garment to be optimized for aesthetics on the exterior while the interior layer is optimized for performance of a sensor of a physiological monitoring device.

[0140] It will be understood that, although the present disclosure may emphasize certain locations and regions for the compression portion of a garment-such as a sleeve and/or a bra-other locations and garment portions are also or instead possible. Thus, in certain aspects, a garment is comprised of at least an inner compression layer attached to an outer non-compression layer. The inner-compression layer may have a physiological monitoring device attached thereto and/or an enclosure for holding a physiological monitoring device. And it will be understood that, an inner compression layer may be disposed in virtually any part of any garment. For example, also or instead of a compression portion being an inner sleeve of a loose-fitting shirt, the shirt may include a compression portion about a waist and/or torso of a wearer. Other configurations are also or instead possible.

[0141] Fig. 12 shows a portion of a garment 1200 with multiple layers. The garment 1200 may include an inner layer 1202 (e.g., an inner compression portion, which can include by way of example an inner sleeve as shown in the figure) having a pocket 1204 (or other enclosure or the like) for a physiological monitoring device (such as any as described herein), and an outer layer 1206 (e.g., a non-compression portion, which can include by way of example an outer sleeve as shown in the figure).

[0142] Thus, in this manner, Fig. 12 shows a garment 1200 that may be part of a smart garment system that includes the garment 1200 and one or more physiological monitors (such as any as described herein). The garment 1200 may include an outer layer 1206 structurally configured to fit on a wearer of the garment 1200 in a non-compressible manner, and an inner layer 1202 coupled to the outer layer 1206 or otherwise disposed adjacent to the outer layer 1206 (e.g., beneath the outer layer 1206). The inner layer 1202 may have an elasticity such that at least a portion of the inner layer 1202 compresses against skin of the wearer of the garment 1200 and is thereby more tightly fitting on the wearer of the garment 1200 than the outer layer 1206. The garment 1200 may further include a pocket 1204, which may be any as described herein. For example, the pocket 1204 may define a void or window adjacent to skin of the wearer of the garment 1200. The pocket 1204 may be disposed within one or more designated areas on the inner layer 1202. By way of example, the one or more designated areas may include at least one of a torso region, a chest region, a spinal region, an extremity region, a waistband region, a backside region, a neck region, a cuff region, and the like.

[0143] A system including the garment 1200 may further include a physiological monitor such as any described herein, which may be removably disposed within the pocket 1204. In aspects, the physiological monitor may include one or more physiological sensors and a communications interface programmed to transmit data from at least one of the physiological sensors to an external device, such as a smartphone or other computing device.

[0144] Fig. 13 shows a front view 1300 and a back view 1302 of a non-compression shirt. The non-compression shirt may include an interior compression sleeve sewn onto (or otherwise engaged to) an outer sleeve of the shirt, thereby providing a location 1304 for a physiological monitoring device in the compression sleeve, with the result that the shirt appears to be a loose-fit athletic shirt while enabling the compression necessary to hold the physiological monitoring device against the wearer's skin with appropriate force and stability for desired data collection and comfort. In some aspects, the compression portion may be engaged along a junction of the garment (or other similar portion) such that the engagement (e.g., stitching) may be less prominent aesthetically and/or less bothersome to a wearer.

[0145] Fig. 14 shows a front view 1400 and a back view 1402 of a non-compression tank-top. The non-compression tank-top may include an interior compression layer sewn into (or otherwise engaged with) the tank-top to function as a bra while also providing a location 1404 (e.g., on the side of the body) to hold a physiological monitoring device against a wearer's skin with appropriate force and stability for desired data collection and comfort.

[0146] Figs. 15-18 show examples of garments compatible with a physiological monitoring device. Such garments may include one or more pockets as described herein for housing at least a portion of a physiological monitoring device.

[0147] The above systems, devices, methods, processes, and the like may be realized in hardware, software, or any combination of these suitable for the control, data acquisition, and data processing described herein. This includes realization in one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers, programmable digital signal processors or other programmable devices or processing circuitry, along with internal and/or external memory. This may also, or instead, include one or more application specific integrated circuits, programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic components, or any other device or devices that may be configured to process electronic signals. It will further be appreciated that a realization of the processes or devices described above may include computer-executable code created using a structured programming language such as C, an object oriented programming language such as C++, or any other high-level or low-level programming language (including assembly languages, hardware description languages, and database programming languages and technologies) that may be stored, compiled or interpreted to run on one of the above devices, as well as heterogeneous combinations of processors, processor architectures, or combinations of different hardware and software.

[0148] Thus, in one aspect, each method described above, and combinations thereof may be embodied in computer executable code that, when executing on one or more computing devices, performs the steps thereof In another aspect, the methods may be embodied in systems that perform the steps thereof, and may be distributed across devices in a number of ways, or all of the functionality may be integrated into a dedicated, standalone device or other hardware. The code may be stored in a non-transitory fashion in a computer memory, which may be a memory from which the program executes (such as random access memory associated with a processor), or a storage device such as a disk drive, flash memory or any other optical, electromagnetic, magnetic, infrared, or other device or combination of devices. In another aspect, any of the systems and methods described above may be embodied in any suitable transmission or propagation medium carrying computer-executable code and/or any inputs or outputs from same. In another aspect, means for performing the steps associated with the processes described above may include any of the hardware and/or software described above. All such permutations and combinations are intended to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0149] The method steps of the implementations described herein are intended to include any suitable method of causing such method steps to be performed, consistent with the patentability of the following claims, unless a different meaning is expressly provided or otherwise clear from the context. So, for example, performing the step of X includes any suitable method for causing another party such as a remote user, a remote processing resource (e.g., a server or cloud computer) or a machine to perform the step of X. Similarly, performing steps X, Y, and Z may include any method of directing or controlling any combination of such other individuals or resources to perform steps X, Y, and Z to obtain the benefit of such steps. Thus, method steps of the implementations described herein are intended to include any suitable method of causing one or more other parties or entities to perform the steps, consistent with the patentability of the following claims, unless a different meaning is expressly provided or otherwise clear from the context. Such parties or entities need not be under the direction or control of any other party or entity and need not be located within a particular jurisdiction.

[0150] It will be appreciated that the methods and systems described above are set forth by way of example and not of limitation. Numerous variations, additions, omissions, and other modifications will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, in addition, the order or presentation of method steps in the description and drawings above is not intended to require this order of performing the recited steps unless a particular order is expressly required or otherwise clear from the context. Thus, while particular embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure and are intended to form a part of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMSA smart garment system, the system comprising: a plurality of garments including at least a first garment and a second garment; a physiological monitor including one or more physiological sensors and a communications interface programmed to transmit data from at least one of the physiological sensors to an external device; one or more pockets included on or within each of the first garment and the second garment, each of the one or more pockets sized and shaped to receive at least a portion of the physiological monitor therein, and each of the one or more pockets comprising at least one elastic layer structurally configured to urge the one or more physiological sensors of the physiological monitor toward skin of a wearer of at least one of the first garment and the second garment; and a detection element disposed on or within at least one of the one or more pockets, the detection element configured to perform at least one of: (i) detecting a presence or absence of the physiological monitor, and 00 communicating data to at least one of the physiological monitor and the external device.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the detection element includes an identifier for identifying at least one of: a garment in which the detection element is disposed, and the wearer of the garment in which the detection element is disposed.
3. The system of any of the preceding claims, wherein the detection element includes a radio frequency identification (RFD)) tag.
4 The system of any of the preceding claims, wherein the detection element includes at least one of a near-field-communication (NEC) tag, a capacitance sensor, a magnetic sensor, an electrical contact, and a mechanical contact.
5. The system of any of the preceding claims, wherein the detection element includes a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the physiological monitor.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein, when the detection element senses the presence of the physiological monitor, the detection element is programmed to communicate a location of the physiological monitor to one or more of the physiological monitor and the external device.
7 The system of claim 6, wherein the location includes a specific region of a garment in which the detection element is disposed.
8. The system of any of claims 6 to 7, wherein sensing performed by the physiological monitor is controlled dependent upon the location of the physiological monitor.
9. The system of any of claims 6 to 8, wherein one or more of a sensor type, a sensor parameter, and a processing model is selected at least in part based on the location of the physiological monitor.
10. The system of any of claims 6 to 9, wherein the location of the physiological monitor is used at least in part to determine an activity being performed by the wearer.
11. The system of any of the preceding claims, further comprising a plurality of physiological monitors including at least a first monitor and a second monitor, wherein the first monitor is located in a first region of either the first garment or the second garment, and wherein the second monitor is located in a second region of either the first garment or the second garment, the first region different from the second region.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first monitor and the second monitor are programmed to perform a differential analysis based on a sensed physiological parameter of the wearer.
13 The system of claim 12, wherein the differential analysis is used in an analysis related to blood pressure of the wearer.
14. The system of any of claims 12 to 13, wherein the differential analysis is used in an analysis related to at least one of heart strength and a pliability of one or more circulatory pathways of the wearer.
15. The system of any of claims 13 to 14, wherein, based on the analysis, information is transmitted to the wearer related to at least one of cardiac age, cardiac health, and a cardiac condition.
16 The system of any of claims 12 to 15, wherein the differential analysis is used in an analysis related to at least one of identifying an activity and determining muscular fitness.
17. The system of any of claims 12 to 16, further comprising a beacon configured to synchronize signals from the first monitor and the second monitor.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the beacon is included on at least one of the first monitor and the second monitor.
19. The system of any of claims 11 to 18, wherein the first monitor and the second monitor communicate with one another.
20. The system of any of claims 11 to 19, wherein the first monitor and the second monitor are programmed to perform different sensing operations based on location.
21. The system of any of claims 11 to 20, wherein the first monitor is located on the first garment, and wherein the second monitor is located on the second garment.
22. The system of any of the preceding claims, wherein data from at least one of the physiological sensors is monitored for signal quality.
23. The system of claim 22, wherein, based on the signal quality being below a predetermined threshold, a notification is sent to the wearer related to at least one of garment type, garment size, garment fit, garment age, garment usage, and location of the physiological sensor,
24. The system of any of the preceding claims, wherein, using the detection element, data related to a number of uses is transmitted to at least one of the physiological monitor and the external device.
25. The system of any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the plurality of garments comprises: an outer layer structurally configured to fit on the wearer in a non-compressible manner; and an inner layer coupled to the outer layer, the inner layer having an elasticity such that at least a portion of the inner layer compresses against skin of the wearer and is thereby more tightly fitting on the wearer of the garment than the outer layer, wherein a pocket of the one or more pockets is disposed within one or more designated areas on the inner layer.