Technical Field The invention relates to a garment for measuring physiological data and/or motion data of a user. The invention further relates to a corresponding system and a method for fabricating such a garment.

Background Art

Wearable technologies are smart devices that can be worn on the user's body and may have advanced functions such as wireless connectivity, analytics and so on. They may have a variety of applications which include healthcare, medical, fitness, wellness, industrial, military and infotainment.

Major drivers for the growth of the wearable technologies market are an increasing health awareness among all age groups, demand for portable devices, demand for real time data analytics and so on. Also, development in big data technologies such as cloud computing support the growth of these smart devices.

Wearable sensors may effectively monitor and measure bodily activities such as body temperature, heart rate and pulse rate among others. Due to increased demand for wearable technology along with further technological development of the sensors, the application areas of wearable sensors are anticipated to grow further.

A major challenge with such wearable technologies is to combine wear comfort with high quality measurement signals. Many known systems for measuring physiological parameters may be perceived as uncomfortable by some users and/or they may lack signal quality. In particular a stable, but comfortable arrange- ment of the measurement electrodes remains a challenge.

For example, systems for measuring the heart rate are known that may require a separate chest belt to be worn.

Other systems as disclosed in US 2016/0066809 or US

2012/0238910A1 provide garments with holes for placing measurement electrodes through the holes on the user's skin.

DE 10 2012 025 345 Al discloses a shirt with integrated textile sensors and an interface unit garment that uses push knobs to fasten a transceiver unit on textile electrodes and a local digital data processing unit that receives measurement signals from the textile electrodes and forwards the received measurement signals to a server. The local digital unit is attached to the shirt by a micro USB press button or snap fastener cable.

It is an object of embodiments of the invention to provide another garment for measuring physiological parameters of a user, in particular a garment that facilitates wear comfort and/or stable electrode positions.

Disclosure of the Invention

According to an embodiment of a first aspect of the invention there is provided a garment, in particular a shirt, for measuring physiological data, in par- ticular electrocardiogram data, of a user. The garment comprises a first electrode configured to contact the skin of the wearer at a first position, a second electrode configured to contact the skin of the wearer at a second position, a first electrode lead configured to electrically connect the first electrode to a first interface contact area and a second electrode lead configured to electrically connect the second electrode to a sec- ond interface contact area. The garment is formed by a plurality of garment parts. The garment parts encompass a main body comprising a first material. The first material may be elastic or non-elastic. According to embodiments the main body is an elastic main body comprising a first elastic material. The main body has a first Young's modulus. The garment comprises a sensory part comprising the first electrode, the second electrode, the first electrode lead and the second electrode lead. The sensory part is arranged on an inner face of the elastic main body. The garment further comprises a compression belt. The compression belt is integrated into the main body and comprises a second material, the second material being an elastic material. The second elastic material has a second Young's modulus. The second Young's modulus is preferably greater than the first Young's modulus. Accordingly, the second elastic material provides a higher elastic tensile force than the first material. The compression belt comprises a plurality of portions, in particular a lower chest portion extending in a horizontal direction below a chest area of the wearer, a central chest portion extending vertically from a central area of the lower chest portion towards the neck of the wearer, a neck portion extending around the neck of the wearer and a back portion arranged in a back area of the wearer and extending from the neck portion to the horizontal portion. The compression belt is configured to press the first electrode and the second electrode on the body of the wearer. Such an embodied system with an integrated compression belt provides a smart, reliable and user-friendly way to integrate measurement electrodes for measuring physiological data of a user in/at a garment. The combination of an integrated compression belt and the main body ensures an accurate, reliable and stable position of the first and the second electrode. Furthermore, forming the garment by a plurality of garments parts facilitates ease of fabrication. This allows e.g. to prefabricate the sensory part, the elastic main body and the parts of the compression belt separately.

The garment according to embodiments of the invention uses a smart combination of a main body, in particular an elastic main body, and an inte- grated compression belt to provide on the one hand a stable position of the first and the second electrode with sufficient contact pressure and to facilitate on the other hand this stable position during movements of the user.

The compression belt establishes a kind of rack or skeleton of fixed/stable anchor points/anchor areas around the chest of the user and in particular around the sensory part to ensure a stable position of the sensory part. The compression belt may according to embodiments also denoted as chest belt.

Concurrently the main body acts as intermediate between these anchor points/anchor areas and facilitate a movement of the body of the user while the compression belt and the sensory part may remain in a substantially stable position with respect to the body of the wearer.

A horizontal direction shall be understood as a direction that extends orthogonal to the body axis/backbone of the wearer, while the term vertical shall be understood as a direction that extends parallel to the body axis/backbone of the wearer.

According to preferred embodiments, the Young's modulus of the main body is at least 10% lower, in particular at least 20% lower, than the Young's modulus of the second elastic material of the compression belt. Such design of the material properties by means of the Young's modulus provides a particularly advantageous interaction of the compression belt and the main body that facilitates a stable position of the first electrode and the second electrode with sufficient contact pressure despite movements of the wearer.

The Young's modulus is a property of elastic materials indicating a ratio of change in stress to change in strain within the elastic limits of the respective elastic material. The ratio may be derived from the stress expressed in force unit cross-sectional area and the strain expressed as a fraction of original length.

The Young's modulus may be measured or determined in standardized ways as is known to a skilled person in the art.

According to an embodiment, the back portion comprises two v- shaped or u-shaped portions connecting the neck portion with the horizontal portion of the compression belt.

Such designed back portions have been proven to be in particular effective in providing stable electrode positions.

According to an embodiment, the compression belt is applied to the outer face of the main body. In particular, the complete main body can be prefabricated in one piece and then the compression belt can be attached to/fixed to the outer face of the main body. This provides the further advantage that there are no seams on the inner face which provides ease of wear. Furthermore, it facilitates the attachment of the sensory part on the inner face, opposite to the horizontal portion of the compression belt. In other words, on one side of the main body below the chest of the wearer there is the horizontal portion of the compression belt and on the other oppo- site side there is the sensory part.

According to an embodiment, the compression belt is applied to the main body by gluing. This facilitates an efficient and reliable fabrication. According to an embodiment, the sensory part is applied to the main elastic body by gluing.

This facilitates an efficient and reliable fabrication.

According to an embodiment, the compression belt comprises a plu- rality of compression parts. In other words, the compression belt may consist of one piece or of many pieces. According to an embodiment, the plurality of compression parts are directly attached to each other. In other words, the plurality of compression parts form a seamless belt.

According to an embodiment, at least some of the plurality of com- pression parts are spaced apart from each other such that elastic areas of the main body are formed between the respective compression parts. Such an embodiment allows to tune the elastic properties of the compression belt by combing the Youngs" s moduli of the main body (in the intermediate areas between the spaced apart compression parts) and of the compression parts.

According to an embodiment, the sensory part comprises a base layer and a conductive layer arranged on the base layer, the conductive layer comprising the first electrode, the second electrode, the first electrode lead and the second electrode lead. Preferably, the conductive layer is glued on the base layer.

According to an embodiment, the conductive layer comprises a conductive fabric or a conductive material for either wet or dry sensor measurements.

According to a further embodiment, the garment is configured to provide at least a predetermined minimum body pressure of 10 mmHG, in particular of more than 20 mmHG, on the body of the user. Such minimum body pressure facilitates that the garment provides fixed/stable anchor points/anchor areas around the sensory part. Thereby stable electrode position and hence a reliable measurement is facilitated.

Preferably the garment is configured such to provide at least a pre- determined minimum contact pressure of 10 mmHG and even more preferably of more than 20 mmHG, on the electrodes.

Such contact pressure facilitates a stable electrode position and hence a reliable measurement.

Generally the contact pressure of the first electrode and the second electrode and the body pressure respectively depends on the Young's modulus, the elongation and the relaxation time of the fabrics used for the various parts of the garment. Generally, the higher the Young's modulus, the higher the body pressure. The body pressure may also be referred to as clothing pressure.

Details of further factors that influence the body pressure exerted by a garment may be found e.g. in the article "Effects of Mechanical Properties of Fabrics on Clothing Pressure", 232 PRZEGLAD ELEKTROTECHNICZNY, ISSN 0033- 2097, R. 89 NR lb/2013, CHEN Dongshengl, LIU Hong2, ZHANG Qiaoling2, WANG Hongge2, University of Minjiang(l), Henan Institute of Engineering (2). The content of this document is incorporated by reference.

The compression may be measured by compression measurement equipment as manufactured e.g. by Instron or Bolam Corporation. The compression may be divided into categories or classes as e.g. as follows: light (10-15 mmHG), mild (15-20 mmHG), moderate (20-30 mmHG), and firm compression (30-40 mmHG).

This may provide a very secure, reliable and stable connection between the garment, the electrodes, the electrode leads and the interface contact areas. Furthermore, such integration of the electrodes provides ease of wear. According to a further embodiment, the elastic main body and/or the compression belt are formed by weaving of polyamide and elastane.

Such a material combination provides ease of wear and it can provide fabrics with a broad variety of Young's moduli. The desired Young's moduli of the different parts can be reached in various ways. According to some embodiments this can be reached by the percentage of elastane. Generally, the higher the percentage of elastane, the higher the Young's modulus of the fabric. According to other embodiments the Young's modulus can be influenced by the weaving technique, e.g. by the weaving density.

According to an embodiment of another aspect of the invention a method for fabricating a garment according to the first aspect is provided.

Such a method allows an efficient fabrication. In particular it allows to prefabricate the sensory part which may require particular know how and fabrication equipment, in particular for forming the electrodes, electrode leads and interface contact areas. According to an embodiment, the garment comprises a first interface unit arranged on an inner face of the garment and a second interface unit arranged on an outer face of the garment. The first interface unit and the second interface unit are connected to each other by means of a first fastening mechanism. The second user interface unit is adapted to provide a second fastening mechanism for attaching an electronic device. The second fastening mechanism is detachable. The second interface unit is adapted to provide an electrical coupling between the first interface contact area and the electronic device and between the second interface contact area and the electronic device.

According to an embodiment, the electronic device is arranged at the front center of the chest or the center point of the back, in particular in the vertical of the body rotation axis. According to embodiments, the electronic device is arranged in a vertical positioning area of the chest or the back, wherein the vertical positioning area is symmetrical to the body rotation axis.

This ensures correct measurements in the center rotation axis of the body which is important for measurements of a gyroscope in x-y-z axis, a G-force meter, an acceleration meter of x-y-z axis, movement in x-y-z axis and for body position measurements.

According to embodiments the electronic device is in particular configured to analyze throughout this data measurements the full body movement and to visualize the full body movement, which may be enabled due to real live data measurements of up to 20/ms per measurement. Such a combination of measuring units on this area with such precise measuring technology as described reaches to visualize real body movements.

For other measurements such as ECG measurements and others the electronic device may be also arranged at other positions of the body, e.g. at the arms.

According to preferred embodiments, the electronic device can be locked into the second interface unit and the second interface unit is a fix element part of the shirt.

Certain embodiments of the presented system and fabrication method may comprise individual or combined features, method steps or aspects as mentioned above or below with respect to exemplary embodiments. Advantages of one aspect of the invention may apply to other aspects of the invention as appropriate.

Other advantageous embodiments are listed in the dependent claims as well as in the description below.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof.

Such description refers to the annexed drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 a shows a schematic diagram of a system for measuring physiological data and/or motion data of a user according to an embodiment of the inven- tion;

Fig. lb shows an electronic device of the system of Fig. la in more detail;

Fig. 2 shows an exemplary and simplified cross sectional view of system according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 3 shows another cross sectional view of the system of Fig.2;

Fig. 4 shows a top view of another system according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 5 shows a cross section taken along A-A of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 shows a 3-dimensional view of the system of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 shows a photographic view of the system of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 shows an electrode arrangement according to another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 9a shows a front side of a textile composition of a female garment according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 9b shows a back side of a textile composition of a female garment according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 10a shows a front side of another textile composition of a male garment according to an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 10b shows a back side of the textile composition of Fig. 10a; Fig. 1 1 shows parts of a compression belt according to an embodiment of the invention; Fig. 12 shows method steps of a method for fabricating a garment according to embodiments of the invention; and

Figures 13-21 show 3 -dimensional views of another embodiment of a first interface unit, a second interface unit and an electronic device.

The drawings are not to scale and simplified for ease of illustration purposes.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

FIG. la shows a system 100 for measuring physiological data and/or motion data of a user U. The user U may be e.g. an athlete that wants to monitor his physiological data during training or competition or a patient that wants to monitor this data for treatment and/or surveillance purposes. A garment 10 that is embodied as a shirt is worn by the user U to measure the physiological data and/or the motion data and/or other measurement data. The physiological data may be in particular electrocardiogram data for performing an electrocardiogram. The motion data may be e.g. the velocity, acceleration, running distance, position and so on of the user U.

The garment 10 has a first electrode 12 and a second electrode 13 of any suitable type or shape which are configured to contact the skin of the user U. The first electrode 12 and the second electrode 13 may be in particular used to perform a 1 -channel electrocardiogram of the user U. Accordingly the first electrode 12 is arranged at a first position 12a and the second electrode 13 is arranged at a second position 13a in a chest area of the garment 10. The garment 10 further comprises a first electrode lead 14 that electrically connects the first electrode 12 to a first interface unit 20 and/or a second interface unit 21. Furthermore, the garment 10 comprises a second electrode lead 16 that electrically connects the second electrode 13 to the first interface unit 20 and/or the second interface unit 21. The first interface unit 20 is arranged on the inner face of the garment 10 towards the skin of the user U and the second interface unit 21 is arranged on the outer face, i.e. an outer face side, of the garment 10. The garment 10 is further equipped with an electronic device 22 that is configured to receive the measured physiological data from the first electrode 12 and the second electrode 13. The first interface unit 20 and the second interface unit 21 are connected to each other by means of a first fastening mechanism as will be described in more detail below. The electronic device 22 is attachable to the second user interface unit 21 by means of a second fastening mechanism which will also be explained in more detail below. The second fastening mechanism is detachable, i.e. the user U may attach the electronic device 22 to the garment 10, e.g. before training, and remove it after the training. This allows e.g. to use one electronic device with many different garments 10, provided the other garments 10 have also the same second fastening mechanism.

As illustrated in Fig. lb, the electronic device 22 may comprise a processing unit 22a for processing the measured physiological and or motion data, a memory unit 22b for storing the measured physiological and/or motion data, one or more temperature sensors 22c for measuring the body temperature of the user U and/or the ambient temperature, a global positioning module (GPS) 22d, an accel- erometer 22e for measuring the acceleration during movement of the body of the user U and a gyroscope 22f. Other sensors and functions may be provided to the electronic device 22 as appropriate, in particular an altimeter.

The electronic device 22 may further comprise a transmitter 22g for transmitting the measured physiological and/or motion data to a mobile device 40, e.g. to a smartphone, and to a server 41. The transmitter 22g may transmit the measured physiological and/or motion data in particular via a wireless connection 42, e.g. a Bluetooth connection, to the mobile device 40. The electronic device 22 comprises a NFC (Near field communication) antenna 22h as well as an USB interface 22i. The mobile device 40 may have e.g. an application program (app) that may further process the received data, display it for the user and/or forward it to the server 41. Such forwarding may be in particular performed via a wide area network 43, in particular the Internet. The mobile device may connect to the wide area network 43 via a connection 44, e.g. a wireless local area network (WLAN) connection or a cellular net- work connection such as GSM, UMTS, 3G, 4G, 5G connection. The electronic device 22 may communicate directly with the server 41 or a PC of the user via an USB connection 48.

The server 41 may perform an enhanced processing and analysis of the received physiological and motion data. This can be e.g. used by the user U him- self and/or by a trainer or a doctor of the user U.

Embodiments of the invention may also perform a real time transfer of the measured physiological and/or motion data to the server 41. This real time data may be used e.g. for online monitoring of a patient, for online monitoring of an athlete's training by a trainer or for online broadcasting of such data via television stations e.g. during a sports competition and/or for full monitoring or permanent monitoring.

FIG. 2 and Fig. 3 shows different views of an exemplary embodiment of the garment 10 of Fig. 1. More particularly, Fig. 2 shows an exemplary and simplified cross sectional view and Fig. 3 a corresponding cross sectional view taken along A- A of Fig. 2.

The garment 10 has an outer face 10a and an inner face 10b. The inner face 10b is arranged towards the body of the user U and more particularly, when worn by the user U, contacts the skin 18 of the user U. Furthermore, the first electrode 12 contacts the skin 18 of the user U at a first position 12a and the second electrode 13 contacts the skin 18 of the user U at a second position 13 a. The first electrode lead 14 extends in a parallel direction with respect to the surface of the skin 18 of the user 11 from the first electrode 12 to a first interface contact area 15 (x-direc- tion). Correspondingly, the second electrode lead 16 extends also in a parallel direction with respect to surface of the skin 18 of the user 1 1 from the second electrode 13 to a second interface contact area 17 (x-direction).

The first electrode 12, the second electrode 13, the first electrode lead 14, the second electrode lead 16, the first interface contact area 15 and the second interface contact area 17 may be formed by stitching/embroidering of one or more electrically conductive filaments or by providing an inlay of any suitable conductive material. Such an embodiment provides a very reliable and secure electrode and electrode lead arrangement. The electrically conductive filaments may be embodied as fibers, films or any solid conductive material. The first and the second electrode is preferably capable of not only acquiring the heart signal of the user/wearer, but also all the other bodily signals which are necessary for cardiological analysis. The electrically conductive fibers may e.g. be embodied with a plastics core and an electrically conductive coating.

According to other embodiments, the first electrode 12, the second electrode 13, the first electrode lead 14, the second electrode lead 16, the first interface contact area 15 and the second interface contact area 17 may be formed by adhesion of electrically conductive materials on the garment 10. The first electrode lead 14 and the second electrode lead 16 transmit the measurement signals, in particular the ECG signals, measured by the first electrode 12 and the second electrode 13 to the first interface contact area 15 and to the second interface contact area 17 respectively. The first electrode lead 14 and the sec- ond electrode lead 16 are electrically isolated and shielded from the skin 18 of the user U to avoid disturbances of the measurement signal measured by the first electrode 12 and the second electrode 13. The isolation may be performed in various ways. According to some embodiments, the electrically conductive filaments may have an electrically isolating coating in the area of the first electrode lead 14 and the second electrode lead 16. According to other embodiments, an additional electrically isolating layer may be provided on the first electrode lead 14 and the second electrode lead 16, i.e. between the first electrode lead 14 and the skin 18 as well as between the second electrode lead 16 and the skin 18 of the user 1 1. Such isolating layers may be fastened to the garment 10 e.g. by printing, sewing, gluing, ultrasonic welding or la- ser welding.

The first interface unit 20 is arranged on the inner face 10b of the garment 10, while the second interface unit 21 is arranged on the outer face 10a of the garment 10.

The first interface contact area 15 may form a ring 15a and the second interface contact area 17 may form a ring 17a as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The first interface unit 20 comprises a first cylindrical shaft 25 that penetrates the ring 15a of the first interface contact area 15 in a form-locking way. Furthermore, the first interface unit 20 comprises a second cylindrical shaft 26 that penetrates the ring 17a of the second interface contact area 17 in a form-locking way.

The second interface unit 21 comprises a first hollow cylinder 27 and a second hollow cylinder 28. The first cylindrical shaft 25 is arranged in the first hollow cylinder 27, while the second cylindrical shaft 26 is arranged in the second hollow cylinder 28. It should be noted that while in the embodiment as illustrated with reference to Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the rings 15a, 17a, the cylindrical shafts 25, 26 and the hollow cylinders 27, 28 have a circular shape, other embodiments may use other suitable shapes, e.g. a hexagonal form. According to the embodiment of Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the cylindrical shafts 25, 26 and the hollow cylinders 27, 28 are formed form-locking to each other in a plane orthogonal to the cylinder axis, i.e. in the x-y- plane shown in Fig. 2. The first interface unit 20 and the second interface unit 21 are connected to each other by means of a first fastening mechanism 30 as indicated in Fig. 2 by double-arrows. Preferably the first fastening mechanism 30 is a non-detachable or in other words permanent fastening mechanism. In the example as illustrated in Fig. 2, the first fastening mechanism 30 could be e.g. implemented by means of adhesive bonding, e.g. by applying an adhesive between the cylindrical shafts 25. 26 and the hollow cylinders 27, 28. Another preferred mechanism that could be used is riveting, in particular blind riveting. Yet another suitable mechanism could be welding.

According to embodiments the first interface unit 20 may be at- tached to the garment 10 e.g. by adhesion techniques, injection moulding techniques or casting techniques".

The electronic device 22 is attached to the second user interface unit 21 by means of a second fastening mechanism 31. The second fastening mechanism 31 is detachable, i.e. the user can e.g. attach the electronic device 22 on the garment 10 and more particularly on the second user interface unit 21 e.g. before training and detach it afterwards. In the example as shown in Fig. 2 the second fastening mechanism 31 could be e.g. a magnetic lock mechanism. According to such an embodiment, both the electronic device 22 and the second interface unit 21 may comprise a magnet with different polarity that provide a magnetic force on each other. According to other preferred embodiments, the second fasting mechanism may be e.g. a bayonet joint as will be described in more detail below. The electronic device 22 comprises an electronic unit 32, e.g. an integrated circuit, that shall receive and process measurement signals, in particular electrocardiogram signals, from the first electrode 12 and the second electrode 13. For this the second interface unit 21 and the first interface unit 20 establish an electrical adapter that provides an electrical coupling between the first interface contact area 15 and the electronic device 22 as well as between the second interface contact area 17 and the electronic device 22. The electrical coupling and the corresponding electrical signals path may be embodied in various ways by any suitable electrical connection technology, e.g. by electrical cables and/or electrically con- ductive coatings. In the example of Fig. 2, the first cylindrical shaft 25 and the second cylindrical shaft 26 may comprise electrically conductive coatings 33 that provide on the one hand an electrical connection to the first interface contact area 15 and the second interface contact area 17 respectively. On the other hand the coatings 33 are electrically connected to an electrical connection 34 that connects the electrically conduc- tive coatings 33 with the electronic circuit 32 of the electronic device 22. Furthermore, the first hollow cylinder 27 and the second hollow cylinder 28 may comprise inner electrically conductive coatings 35. The electrical connection 34 may be e.g. implemented by electrical cables or other electrically conductive paths.

In operation, the electrical measurement signals measured by the first electrode 12 are transmitted via the first electrode lead 14, the first interface con- tact area 15, the electrical coatings 33, 35 of the first cylindrical shaft 25 and the first hollow cylinder 27 and via the electrical connection 34 to the electronic circuit 32 of the electronic device 22. Likewise, the electrical measurement signals measured by the second electrode 13 are transmitted via the second electrode lead 16, the second interface contact area 17, the electrical coatings 33, 35 of the second cylindrical shaft 26 and the second hollow cylinder 28 and via the electrical connection 34 to the electronic circuit 32 of the electronic device 22.

Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 illustrate another embodiment of a system 400 according to an embodiment of the invention. The system 400 is illustrated without a garment.

Fig. 4 shows a top view of the system 400 that comprises a second interface unit 21 and an electronic device 22. The distance di could be e.g. 65 mm or any suitable size to adapt to the respective body size of the user. Fig. 5 shows a cross section taken along A-A of Fig. 4. In this illustration the second interface unit 21 and the electronic device 22 are shown apart from the first interface unit 21 or in other words in a non-connected state, while the second interface unit 21 and the electronic device 22 are shown in a connected state. More particularly, the electronic device 22 is arranged within an opening 51 of the second interface unit 21 by means of a bayonet joint 50. The first interface unit 21 has a first cylindrical shaft 25 and a second cylindrical shaft 26 that can be pushed/inserted into a first hollow cylinder 27 and a second hollow cylinder 28 of the second interface unit respectively. The distance d ₂ could be e.g. 35 mm and the distance d ₃ could be e.g. 30 mm. The first cylindrical shaft 25 and the second cylindrical shaft 26 comprise elec- trically conductive coatings 33 and the first hollow cylinder 27 and the second hollow cylinder 28 comprise inner electrically conductive coatings 35. The coatings 33, 35 are electrically connected via an electrical connection 34, e.g. a small cable to contacts 34a of the electronic circuit 32 of the electronic device 22. The electrical connection 34 is indicated in Fig. 5 by dotted lines. According to this embodiment the electronic device 22 can be attached and detached to the first interface unit 21 by means of the bayonet screw joint 50.

Accordingly, for attaching the electronic device 22 to the second in- terface unit 21, the user inserts or pushes the electronic device 22 into the opening 51 of the second interface unit 21 and rotates it e.g. in a clockwise direction in order to securely fasten or lock it. Correspondingly, for detaching the electronic device 22 from the second interface unit 21, the user rotates the electronic device 22 in the counter-clockwise direction and pulls it out of the opening 51 of the second interface unit 21. There may be various was for implementing the bayonet joint 50. A more detailed description is omitted as this is known to a skilled person in the art.

Fig. 6 shows a 3 -dimensional view of the system 400. Fig. 7 shows a photographic view of the system 400, wherein the first interface unit 20 is connected to the second interface unit 21 and the second interface unit 21 is connected to the electronic device 22. Also in this photograph the garment is not shown. In a final mounted state the garment would be placed between the first interface unit 20 and the second interface unit 21 as described with reference to Fig. 2.

Fig. 8 shows a sensory part 800 according to an embodiment of the invention. The sensory part 800 comprises a base layer 801 and a conductive layer 802 arranged on the base layer 801. The conductive layer 801 comprises the first electrode, the second electrode, the first electrode lead and the second electrode lead.

According to a preferred embodiment, the conductive layer 802 is glued on the base layer 801. The conductive layer 802 may comprise a conductive fabric. More particularly, the first electrode lead 14 and the second electrode lead 16 are not straight as in the embodiment of Fig. 2 and 3. Rather they have a curved form. Generally the form of the electrode leads 14, 16 may be adapted to the respective needs of the geometry and electrode position as needed. Fig. 9a and Fig. 9b illustrate a more detailed view of a textile composition of the garment 10. Fig. 9a shows a front side of the garment 10 and Fig. 9b a corresponding back side of the garment 10. The front side is supposed to be worn at the chest/belly side of the user, while the backside is supposed to be worn on the back of the user. The garment 10 is embodied as shirt and may be in particular a sports shirt. The garment is embodied as female version of a shirt.

The garment 10 is formed by a plurality of garment parts. These garments parts may be prefabricated and subsequently put together to form the garment/shirt 10.

The garment 10 comprises an elastic main body 901 comprising a first elastic material. The first elastic material has a first Young's modulus.

The garment 10 further comprises a sensory part, e.g. the sensory part 800 as illustrated in FIG. 8.

The sensory part 800 is arranged on the inner face of the elastic main body 901 and hence illustrated with dotted lines.

The garment 10 further comprises a compression belt 903 integrated into the elastic main body 901. The compression belt 903 comprises a second elastic material. The second elastic material has a second Young's modulus that is greater than the first Young's modulus. The compression belt is formed by a plurality of compression parts, which may also be denoted as compression portions. More particularly, the compression belt 903 comprises a lower chest portion 903 a extending in a horizontal x-direction below a chest area 904 of the wearer. The compression belt 903 further comprises a central chest portion 903b extending vertically in a z-direction from a central area 905 of the lower chest portion 903a towards the neck of the wearer. The central area 905 is an area that is situated centrally with respect to the central axis/backbone with respect to the horizontal x-direction. The compression belt 903 further comprises a neck portion 903c extending around the neck of the wearer and a back portion 903 d arranged in a back area 906 of the wearer and extending from the neck portion 903c to the lower chest portion 903a.

The compression belt 903 is configured to press the sensory part 800 comprising the first electrode and the second electrode on the body of the wearer.

The compression belt 903 is configured to exert a compression on the body of the user/wearer of the garment 10. This establishes a kind of rack or skeleton of fixed/stable anchor points/anchor areas around the sensory part 901. Concurrently the elastic main body 901 serves as elastic intermediate or elastic damper be- tween these anchor points/anchor areas and enables a movement of the body of the user/wearer while the sensory part 901 is substantially kept in a stable position with respect to the body of the user. This facilitates high quality measurement signals. The back portion 903d comprises two u-shaped portions connecting the neck portion 903c with the horizontal portion 903a of the compression belt 903. The compression belt 903 is applied to the outer face of the elastic main body 901, e.g. by gluing, sewing or weaving.

The sensory part 800 is arranged opposite to the lower chest portion 903a of the compression belt 903. In other words, the lower chest portion 903 a is arranged on the outer face and the sensory part 800 on the opposite inner face of the elastic main body 901. The sensory part 800 may be applied to the elastic main body 901 by gluing.

Furthermore, the electronic device 22 may be attached to the garment 10 with the first and the second interface unit as described above.

The electronic device 22 may be preferably arranged in a vertical positioning area 920 of the chest or a vertical positioning area 921 of the back. The vertical positioning areas 920, 921 extend in the vertical z-direction and are symmetrical to the body rotation axis. This ensures correct measurements for measurements of a gyroscope in x-y-z direction, a G-force meter, an acceleration meter of x-y-z axis, measurements of the body position and movement in x-y-z axis. For other meas- urements such as ECG measurements and other functions the electronic device 22 may be also arranged at other positions of the body, e.g. at the arms.

A vertical positioning area is understood as an area that extends vertically in the z-direction and that is symmetrically arranged to the body axis of the user.

Fig. 10a and Fig. 10b illustrate more detailed views of a textile composition of another garment 10. More particularly, the garment is embodied as male version of a shirt. Fig. 10a shows a front side of the garment 10 and Fig. 10b a corresponding back side of the garment 10.

The male version of the shirt comprises similar elements as the female version of the shirt and accordingly also comprises a compression belt 903 integrated into the elastic main body 901. The compression belt 903 is in particular adapted for the male anatomy. More particularly, the compression belt 903 comprises a lower chest portion 903a extending in a horizontal x-direction below a chest area 904 of the wearer. The compression belt 903 further comprises a central chest portion 903b extending vertically in a z-direction from a central area 905 of the lower chest portion 903a towards the neck of the wearer. The compression belt 903 further comprises a neck portion 903c extending around the neck of the wearer and a back portion 903d arranged in a back area 906 of the wearer and extending from the neck portion 903c to the lower chest portion 903a. The back portion 903d comprises two v- shaped portions connecting the neck portion 903c with the horizontal portion 903a of the compression belt 903.

Again, the compression belt 903 is configured to press the sensory part 800 comprising the first electrode and the second electrode on the body of the wearer.

The different portions of the elastic main body 903 may be made of one piece/one part, but preferably the elastic main body is fabricated from a plurality of prefabricated pieces/parts. Figs. 11a, l ib and 1 1 c show embodiments of prefabricated pieces of a compression belt.

As shown in FIG. 1 la, at least some of the plurality of compression parts 1101, 1102 and 1103 are spaced apart from each other such that elastic areas 1110 of the elastic main body (not shown) are formed between the respective compression parts.

As shown in FIG. 1 lb, the plurality of compression parts 1101, 1102 and 1103 may also be directly attached to each other.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 lc, a compression belt 1 120 is made from one piece.

Fig. 12 shows method steps of a method 1200 for fabricating a gar- ment according to embodiments of the invention.

At a step 1210, a sensory part 800 as shown e.g. in Fig. 8 is fabricated, comprising a first electrode (12), a second electrode (13), a first electrode lead (14) configured to electrically connect the first electrode (12) to a first interface con- tact area (15) and a second electrode lead (16) configured to electrically connect the second electrode (13) to a second interface contact area (17). At a step 1220, an elastic main body, e.g. the main body 901 as shown in FIGS. 9 und 10 is fabricated.

At a step 1230, a compression belt, e.g. the compression belt 903 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, is fabricated.

At a step 1240, the compression belt is attached on an outer face of the elastic main body.

At a step 1250, the sensory part is attached on an inner face of the elastic main body.

Figures 13-21 show 3-dimensional views of another embodiment of a first interface unit 20, a second interface unit 21 and an electronic device 22.

The first interface unit 20 comprises first fixing elements 20a, 20b and 20c adapted to be fixed to the second interface unit 21.

The first, the second and the third fixing element are embodied as separate components and establish together the first interface unit 20. Such a separate arrangement provides advantages in terms of ease of fabrication. The first, the second and the third fixing element may be in particular arranged in a kind of triangle-config- uration. This provides enhanced stability.

The first interface unit 20 and the second interface unit 21 are connected to each other by means of a first fastening mechanism. Preferably the first fastening mechanism is a non-detachable or in other words a permanent fastening mechanism. The first fastening mechanism could be e.g. implemented by means of adhe- sive bonding, riveting or welding.

The second interface unit 21 comprises a conical edge 1340 for guiding and retaining the electronic device 22. The second interface unit 21 comprises a central and circular guiding hole 1350 for guiding the electronic device 22.

The electronic device 22 comprises a central rod 1360, in particular a round rod that is configured to enter to enter the guiding hole 1350. The user may attach the electronic device 22 to the second interface unit 21 by entering the central rod 1360 into the central guiding hole 1350. The central rod 1360 comprises bulges 1366 that serve as fixing elements or locking elements during rotation.

Then the electronic device may be fastened to the second interface unit 21 by turning by hand the electronic device 22. This establishes a second detachable fastening mechanism. The detaching may be performed by turning the electronic device 22 in the opposite direction. The turning by hand may be facilitated by grooves 1365 at the outer edge of the electronic device 22.

Such an arrangement is very space-saving, user convenient and efficient.

The first fixing elements 20a, 20b and 20c are preferably implemented as rivets. The shaft of the rivets is metallic and serves to provide an electrical connection between the electrodes and the electronic device. The system comprises a metallic spring 1380 which has contact surfaces 1381 for contacting a metallic interface of the electronic device 22. The rivets 20a, 20b and 20c enter holes 1382 of the spring 1380 and are fixed by rivet heads 1390. The rivet heads 1390 are preferably also metallic and provide a plane, 2-dimensional contact to the metallic spring 1380. This ensures a reliable electric connection.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.