Circulatory Jacket is an interactive wearable that incorporates heart rate and galvanic skin response sensors to visualize changes in heart rate and stress, both for those wearing the jacket and those around it, through light. Heart rate and galvanic skin response commonly act as a representation of changes in activity, stress, and the state of a person's body. These are frequently used as a key metric of a person’s well being, status, and feeling, detailed by the Cleveland Clinic. Rapid increases or decreases are changes that someone would often watch for and attempt to notice.

Circulatory Jacket is targeted at wearers with a keen interest in their health and those who need to monitor for changes, especially for conditions like long COVID. Heart rate remains a keystone in monitoring and evaluating the overall health of a person. The light patterns of Circulatory Jacket cycle back and forth starting red to symbolize oxygenated blood and returning to the heart blue. Visualized by abstracting the path blood takes through the body, using an LED stripe, it speeds up as heart rate increases and adds a yellow tinge as the GSR value increases. The wearer will be able to notice changes in brightness and speed, both positively and negatively, and externally display them in an abstract way to others around them. Circulatory Jacket helps the wearer and the people they’re close to develop a sense of what various heart rate patterns are normal for the wearer and notice unexpected changes.

Heart on a Sleeve is a contemporary heart monitor that is worn on the arm of the person that tracks the user’s heart rate. The armband help them monitor their heart while participating in strenuous activities that could cause them to faint. In order to keep blood flowing, deep pressure using tight velcro is utilized along with an Ardunio and pulse sensor that track bpm. Along with a unique shirt design with flowing sleeves so that the monitor can be worn under with no obvious extrusion, this heart rate monitor is modified into a fashionable armband that allows users who want to feel stylish. they are burdened by their heart monitors to be left behind when it comes to unique clothing.
While this design is intended for anyone who suffers from something such as POTS, anyone could wear this armband, especially if they are active or need to make sure blood is flowing well while they are idle. POTS, as defined by the NHS, “is an abnormal increase in heart rate that occurs after sitting up or standing.” Heart on a Sleeve strives to make a difference in fashionable, important technology as POTS has nearly no technology created specifically to help with it.

Heart On Your Sleeve is a fashionable heart monitor placed at the bicep, keeping users in the know while looking fabulous. HOYS was designed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome in mind, considering the role heart rate plays in it. POTS symptoms include fainting, lightheadedness, and heart palpitations, all most commonly when standing or walking. Users with POTS have also reported it's hard to tell when they’re about to faint, and don't tend to sit down to recover in time. HOYS makes it very clear to the user what exactly their heart is doing, if they're experiencing a drastic increase in blood flow, or if they're experiencing heart palpitations. Having this reminder will warn them to recover, lowering the risk of passing out.

Information about pots from

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16560-postural-orthostatic-tachycardia-syndrome-pots

Aveen's Brief

Balance pants are streetwear-oriented pants that provide visualization of balance over time. As the human body ages, many systems begin to slow down. The vestibular system, which manages the body's balance declines with age. Cells in the vestibular system die off, affecting one’s ability to correct their position. These issues are silent, and they build over time all the way up to the point where it could become dangerous. According to the CDC, About 36 million falls are reported among older adults each year resulting in more than 32,000 deaths. Balance pants put these issues on display, to spread awareness about these issues to the younger generation.

This benefits the user's family with the ability to watch out for their older loved ones. Through two tubes that take the place of pinstripes on the side of a pair of khaki skate pants, balance pants visualize the weight distribution between the wearer's two feet. Pressure on one foot will cause the tube on that same foot to become filled with bubbles. The tubes have internal baffles to slow the fluid flow down in the tube allowing the liquid to stay longer, displaying balance over time.

Will's Brief

BalenceStripe is streetwear-inspired pants designed to visualize balance in an engaging way. BalenceStripe reveals the decline in balance among aging people. According to the CDC, About 36 million falls are reported among older adults each year resulting in more than 32,000 deaths.

BalenceStripe represents balance by measuring the amount of pressure the user puts in each step. This pressure is expressed through a strip down the side of the pants that is filled with oil and blue-colored water. When a step occurs the pressure sensor on the foot tells the pump the pressure of the air to pump when this pump occurs the water bubbles move up the faster and higher they move the more pressure is put into the step. This will help show if someone has a constant pressure imbalance which can allow the user to look into  finding a solution.

Expantion is a pair of pants that measures one's heart rate. This outfit can be worn by anyone who needs to be notified if their heart rate goes over a specific limit to prevent harm and to be more aware of their health. With sensors, the garment will react accordingly and contract in size when a heart rate spike is detected. This will create a light squeeze around the user's legs which will ultimately notify them to slow down and take a minute to rest and regulate their heart rate.

In this studio, students will explore the potential of biotechnology to enhance us as human beings and help us survive in extreme environments. Simple organisms such as bacteria, algae, etc are all around us and inside our bodies. Bacteria cells in our body outnumber human cells 10:1. If the new technology of biology allows us to engineer these organisms for new functions, what new abilities could we as humans/ or synthetic humans have? Can we inhabit new environments? Can we engineer synthetic organisms to filter water, generate power, detect and transform harmful chemicals, produce food, make bioplastics? In this studio,  students will imagine, design, and build wearable bioreactors that will inhabit engineered living cells to work in symbiosis with us, empower us, and enhance our survival abilities.

Session 2: Jul 20-31, 2020

Wearable technology is everywhere today. The Apple Watch lets you monitor your daily fitness, read emails, summon Siri, and make and receive phone calls from your wrist. During a pandemic, how can we use the potential of wearable technology to approach health and wellness? As we start to adjust to the new normal, we will seek more information about ourselves, our surroundings, and contacts at school and in our own neighborhood.

In the healthcare industry, wearable technology is being used to address big problems, and all around the world, designers are creating smart and responsive apparel, accessories, fitness wear, and assistive devices to enhance people’s everyday life. Are you ready to make the next breakthrough product in wearable tech?

In this Studio, we will be developing the next generation of health-focused wearable tech products! Using innovative textiles, materials, and technologies, you will learn how to design wearable tech products that will improve the lives of people, patients, doctors, and other healthcare professionals. 

Through this process, students will learn the basics of electronics, microcontrollers and computer programming. They will learn how to integrate external sensors (from simple switches and buttons to heart rate and muscle sensors) and actuators (such as motors, lights, speakers, solenoids, valves, fans) into their designs to create responsive products for the body.

The Bioactive Bandage provides instant relief to 2nd-degree burn victims by soothing and caring for the damaged skin. It is made of silicone that will infuse aloe into the skin, to keep the burn moisturized.  

The Bioactive Bandage helps victims of 2nd-degree burns which don't require a hospital visit but need to be cared for.  This project is aimed to help those with moderate burns and the scars that they may leave. The Bioactive Bandage could help people be able to accurately care for their wounds without having to worry and stress. 

The product is made out of a thin layer of silicone that sticks to the skin and allows bioengineered aloe to infuse itself into the burn site when needed. There are many other products that use silicone because it traps the heat in and keeps the skin clean, but our product infuses aloe vera, which has been proven to help significantly with soothing the burn and reducing scarring.  The user just needs to apply the silicone to the burn sites and let them heal.

UV Resistant Sleeve: A sleeve to protect workers or beachgoers from harsh and dangerous UV rays that damage and burn skin.

People who have to work outside all day are often the victims of the sun.The sun’s rays burn their exposed skin. They are in danger of skin cancer caused by the UV rays. The UV Bio-Protective Sleeve was created to deflect the UV rays and protect the wearer’s skin. The wearer could just wear long-sleeved clothing but that may cause overheating or heatstroke. The wearer slides it onto your arm into the four supportive rings on the inside of the sleeve, which keep it supported.

The UV Bio-Protective Skin is made out of kombucha fibers that are still living. The bacteria that grows in tea and sugar which produces the SCOBY that has been genetically engineered to produce SASP (Small, acid-soluble proteins) proteins which are produced by Bacillus spores. SASP proteins are UV/heat resistant. The GMO bacteria is then grown into a SCOBY on the surface of the tea from which a material for clothes can be made.  An area of research and development involves ensuring the SCOBY has a continuous water supply.

Inside the SCOBY material are tubes that carry the nutrients needed to keep the SCOBY alive. Inside the tubes, there’s the sugars and kombucha tea that the SCOBY needs to stay alive. The kombucha fibers deflect the UV rays from the sun and keep the skin underneath healthy and protected. The hope is that using the UV Bio-Protective Sleeve will decrease skin cancer and keep people safe and healthy.

-Ilana Cooke

Wearable Vegan Uv Protection: An arm sleeve that is made out of vegan Kombucha fibers, made from dried SCOBY, which contains fibers of genetically engineered UV resistant properties and that are constantly getting fed proper amounts of water and other nutrients to be kept alive. This device is geared toward people who are looking to stay protected from UV rays and hope to benefit from their skin also, receiving healthy nutrients from the Kombucha arm sleeve.

Many people run into the problem of enjoying warm sunny days due to the fear of being burned by the harmful UV rays coming from the sun. Our device not only solves that problem but also benefits your skin in the long run. We wanted to make a fabric for an arm sleeve that could protect one from the harmful UV rays. As our fabric, we decided to use dried SCOBY, originated from Kombucha. We chose this because Kombucha SCOBY posses many beneficiary properties for the skin. Also, it will possess the UV resistant properties after we genetically engineer the gene into the Kombucha bacteria.

In order to create this sleeve, we started with a bucket of Kombucha with a solid piece of SCOBY floating at the top; the piece getting larger and thicker as the days went by as it was being cultured. In order to make the SCOBY into a fabric with an irrigation system, we had to do a series of steps: Such as installing the plastic tubing for the irrigation and leaving it in a convection oven for a couple hours in the order it to fully dry, to then be stretched out as a fabric. The one step we were unable to do was to genetically engineer the Kombucha to have the UV resistant qualities; however, that would have been one of the first steps in terms of growing the Kombucha. 

-Ben Wilmerding

Richie

The Food Suit is a wearable bioreactor that supplies the wearer with the required nutritional energy for the day. This allows the wearer to go long periods without eating. The nutritious mixture is produced by an algae farm carried on the back. The algae is then moved to a separate tank filled with a substance that breaks down the algae into its basic components. These are then transferred into a transdermal patch, which releases the nutrients into the bloodstream. A transdermal patch is a sticky patch placed on the skin, which its micro-needles pierce to gain access to the bloodstream. The Food Suit revolutionizes the way people consume food by removing the hassle of finding food throughout the day. This project also allows people to know that they are getting the exact nutrients needed. This project could be useful to a variety of people, such as a rock climber on a lengthy climb who can't stop to eat, an astronaut on a space expedition who needs an unlimited food supply or just a regular person who needs to lose weight but can't find the right foods to eat.

Oli 

The Food Suit engages the social issue of not having enough money to eat healthy. All over the world, people are living in poverty and all they can afford are cookies. Imagine a world where people are not hungry and not overweight.

The food suit is a clear backpack with a pump to flow the algae and the glucose into the wearer. The wearer blows into a tube which provides the Co2 to grow the algae in a bag. Once it is grown, it goes to another bag where the algae is broken down into glucose. It is then pumped into a filter with a pump. What hasn't been filtered out is pumped into a box with micro-needles, that are pierced into the skin, that lets the glucose go into the body.