Designing Posture Monitoring Garments to Support Rehabilitation

Abstract

Posture monitoring and correction technologies can be useful in supporting prevention of musculoskeletal disorders and in supporting physical therapy, e.g., for arm-hand training after stroke or spinal cord injury. My doctoral research is concerned with the design of wearable technologies for posture monitoring and correction. Specifically we focus on smart garments that embed electronics and, in combination with a smartphone application, can give feedback and coaching for sustaining a correct posture. The research aims to contribute new design concepts that will be prototyped and validated both for their clinical relevance, and for their acceptance by patients and health workers. In addition to the prototype garments, we are also interested in developing relevant design knowledge, which we shall try to explicate in terms of reflections, and design patterns, across a range of prototypes.