Irish scientists are working on the development of "smart fabrics" which can monitor the compliance of obese people with a prescribed exercise routine.
Sensors built into a person's clothes would be capable of monitoring breathing, heartbeat and physical activity as well as the person's location, and could download this information to health professionals.
The first commercial products containing such self-sensing material should be available within five years, according to Prof Dermot Diamond of DCU.
Tiny devices measuring the performance of elite athletes are already on the market, he pointed out, including a small sensor which when placed in a running shoe can monitor vital signs and transmit them wirelessly to a computer.
Prof Diamond presented the results of his research team's work into adaptive information clusters at Science Foundation Ireland's science summit in Dublin yesterday.
Wearable sensors would also have a huge role to play in fighting type 2 diabetes, a lifestyle disease linked to physical inactivity, he said. "In future, people will be incentivised to undertake physical activity to maintain their wellness and save enormous amounts of money for the health system."
Asked how people might be incentivised, he suggested that insurance companies might offer a rebate to people who signed up to a particular activity profile. This was similar to the reductions offered to non-smoking customers except that, in this case, it would be possible to track compliance by fitting sensors in the person's clothing.
In the technology, breathing is measured by coating an elastic fibre such as lycra with a conducting polymer. As the wearer breathes the fabric is stretched and the resistance across the polymer changes. Similar technology could be used in foam inserts in shoes to measure distance travelled.
New technologies will democratise diagnostics by giving users power to monitor their own health, he suggested.
Prof Diamond acknowledged there was a "spook" element to such technology and measures would have to be taken to allay Big Brother-type fears. Its introduction would have to be accompanied by a strong ethical framework and people would have to be made aware of the technological possibilities so appropriate constraints could be applied. Monitoring by insurance companies would have to be elective, for instance.
"The cost of not doing something about obesity and other problems linked to physical inactivity is not sustainable," he warned.
