NIR-Absorbing Textiles for Accurate Skin Detection in Low Light
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current camera-based health monitoring systems face challenges in accurately differentiating skin from adjacent textile products and backgrounds in low lighting conditions, particularly in the near-infrared range due to flat reflection spectra, which hinders reliable vital signs measurement.
Innovation Solution
A textile product with near-infrared (NIR) absorbing pigments is used to enhance contrast between skin and surrounding elements, featuring an absorption spectrum significantly different from human skin, allowing for effective skin detection using a system with a detection unit and classifier.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional textiles without NIR-absorbing pigments are used, then the textile is comfortable and provides good coverage, but the contrast between skin and textile in NIR range is low making skin detection difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The textile is treated with NIR-absorbing pigments that change its optical properties in the near-infrared spectrum. This creates a strong contrast between the textile appearance and skin appearance in NIR images, enabling the detection unit to easily distinguish skin regions from textile regions while maintaining the textile's normal appearance and comfort properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the optical parameters of the textile by incorporating NIR-absorbing pigments. This modifies the textile's reflectance spectrum in the NIR range without affecting its mechanical properties, comfort, or appearance in the visible spectrum, thereby solving the detection problem while preserving textile functionality.
2Reliability
If multiple sensors are attached to the patient's body for health monitoring, then vital signs can be monitored, but patient freedom of movement is restricted and skin damage may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces mechanical contact sensors with an optical detection system using a camera and NIR imaging. The detection unit captures NIR images of the patient, and skin regions are automatically identified through image processing, eliminating the need for physical sensor attachments and thereby preserving patient freedom of movement while maintaining monitoring reliability.
3Illumination intensity
If NIR light is used for skin detection in low lighting conditions, then unobtrusive monitoring is achieved, but differentiation between skin and other elements becomes difficult due to flat reflection spectra
Solution Approach 1:
The NIR-absorbing pigments create a distinct optical signature for textiles in the NIR spectrum. This allows the detection system to differentiate skin from textile based on their contrasting reflectance properties in the NIR range, even under low lighting conditions where unobtrusive monitoring is required.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The use of NIR-absorbing textiles significantly improves skin detection accuracy in low lighting conditions, facilitating easy identification and enhancing the reliability of vital signs monitoring, especially in NICU and other medical settings.
Implementation Method 1
textile product being made from or comprising textile including near-infrared, NIR, absorbing pigments
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a system and method of skin detection of a human subject using a textile product. The textile product (10, 31, 43) is made from or comprising textile including near-infrared, NIR, absorbing pigments. It supports and/or partially covers the human subject while skin detection and/or detection/monitoring vital signs of the human subject is carried out. A increased contrast between the textile product and skin in the NIR wavelength range is thus achieved.