Smartwatches have been coming closer and closer to serving as medically dependable heart rate monitors, but now, you may not even need to put on a watch to keep tabs on your cardiovascular health. Really, you might just put on a shirt. Emglare has introduced a new line of smart clothing that the company claims is capable of monitoring your ECG and heartbeat. These smart clothes purport to “directly communicate” with a companion mobile app in order to give wearers a sense of how their heart is faring.
“Our goal is to create the best smart clothes in the world that are not only super smart but mainly comfortable and suitable for everyday wearing,” said Ji?í Pastor, CEO and founder of Emglare. “Our products are developed by a group of specialists from different disciplines – healthcare, informatics, and the fashion industry.”
The new clothing line is comprised of an undershirt and sports t-shirt for men, and a sports bra and standard bra for women. All of the clothes claim to be comfortable enough for daily use, but contain built-in sensors in order to provide health data as well. The clothing comes as a corollary for Emglare’s very first product — the Emglare Heart mobile app. This app analyzes and interprets the data that is transmitted through the company’s clothing, and provides users with a snapshot of their overall health.
The app will automatically send you a notification if your heart rate is determined to be higher than normal, and can also be programmed to inform your healthcare provider or family members about such events. Furthermore, Emglare will provide you with daily and weekly health statistics regarding your heart rate, and also offers your ECG history and other cardiovascular data on a day-by-day basis.
As for Emglare’s clothing, all can be charged wirelessly, and taking care of your shirts or bras is as easy as taking care of your normal clothes. While there are a few additional instructions provided for proper maintenance, you don’t have to jump through hoops in order to keep these smart clothes clean.
Currently, it doesn’t seem as though Emglare has much by way of proof of concept, and indeed, the company is in the process of planning a Kickstarter campaign in order to bring its products to life. For the time being, it seems as though these clothes (while interesting) are some distance away from hitting shelves. And of course, you should always recognize that no matter how smart these wearables may be, they’re no replacement for actual medical attention.
Emglare says its smart shirts can monitor your heart rate [Digital Trends]