Vibe-ing: Designing a Smart Textile Care Tool for the Treatment of Osteoporosis

Abstract

Vibe-ing is a care tool in the form of a garment, which invites the body to feel, move, and heal through vibration therapy. The merino wool garment contains knitted pockets, equipped with electronic circuit boards that enable the garment to sense touch and vibrate specific pressure points on the body. With this design we aim to inform a multi-disciplinary audience about the opportunities of integrating textile and vibration for health-care applications. We show how new manufacturing can lead to new possibilities in garment design and the integration of electronic components. With an example of dynamic behavior we demonstrate how the vibration therapy of the garment can be tailored to individual treatment needs. This design serves as a start. We plan to further investigate the effects of vibration therapy combined with textile design and electronics for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Martijn ten Bhömer

Co-founder & CTO

Specialized in the design, research and development of intelligent products.