Smart Clothes to Take Care of People or Smart People Who Use Clothes to Take Care of Themselves?
Since the dawn of human life, we have used clothes and accessories to protect our health and defend ourselves from the elements and danger. From the mid-1990s onward, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology began to explore the possibility of incorporating microprocessors into textiles. 1 Since then, 3 areas of innovation have strongly promoted the development of smart clothing: the introduction of new fibers in textiles (eg, conductive materials), the miniaturization of electronic devices, and the development of wireless communication. The latter enables clothes to communicate and interact with personal computers and mobile phones. Smart clothes were originally designed for use in clinical settings. However, thanks to miniaturization and mobile technology, their use has recently proliferated in the general population as a tool for health and wellbeing. According to the World Health Organization, mobile health (known as mHealth), will soon be available to 90% of