Wearable Electronic Textile Systems for Health Monitoring: A Review of Advances and Adoption Challenges

Abstract

ABSTRACT Wearable electronic textiles have played a significant role in healthcare delivery over the past few years. The desired characteristics of textiles, such as softness, flexibility, air permeability, and lightweight, coupled with their ability to withstand rough handling and several weather conditions, make them exceptional for application in flexible electronics for healthcare delivery. With the fast‐growing technology, new inventions and advancements keep emerging in various sectors, of which the textiles and health sectors are not an exception, as far as wearable technology is concerned. Given this, it is observed that the concept of wearable electronic textiles in healthcare delivery has not received the needed attention, although past studies have contributed immensely to popularizing it. With this gap identified, this review is conducted to unveil the various innovations in wearable textile technology, the functionality of textile‐based sensors, and the significance of wearable electronic textile systems in healthcare delivery. The study provides valuable information on the manufacturing, application, and cutting‐edge innovations in wearable textile electronic systems for healthcare delivery. It also addresses the challenges and methods for mitigating these constraints to facilitate enhanced adoption. This provides insight for researchers and policymakers on decision‐making regarding wearable electronic textile design and utilization.