Smart Textile Integrated Wireless Powered Near Field Communication Body Temperature and Sweat Sensing System

Abstract

Near field communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless communication technique that has become an attractive device for healthcare and wellbeing monitoring. The work reported here demonstrates the development of a battery free wearable sensing system with temperature and sweat sensors embedded into and powered by a smart textile NFC antenna. The NFC antenna is seamlessly integrated with closed-body garments, and the sensor data can be easily acquired by NFC readers and smart phones in order to achieve real time and wireless monitor of health status in a convenient and nonintrusive way. A Dickson charge pump circuit has been designed and implemented in order to pump up the voltage and ensure a steady voltage supply for the sweat sensor. The maximum read range for accessing sensor data is 6 cm. The on-body measurement accuracy of the temperature sensor and sweat sensor are able to achieve ±0.14 °C and ±0.2%, respectively. The presented system can provide wearable battery-free ubiquitous wireless connectivity for point-of-care and any time healthcare and wellbeing monitoring.