Inteletex, a website covering textile news, reports about a new fabric in the works:
Polartec and Foster-Miller have received a US$5.5 million contract from the US Government for the research and development of Combat Casualty Care fabrics.
Together the two companies are now developing rugged, durable, electronic textiles that incorporate conductive fibres, discreet sensors and supporting electronics to transmit vital medical information within a war zone.
It is planned that the new Combat Casualty Care fabrics will be able to transmit the physiological status of soldiers in combat to medics behind the battlefield, allowing real time monitoring of fit-to-fight status and enabling medics to perform remote triage.
The facrics will comprise a “wear and forget” system interoperable with current and future Army combat systems. The system will provide remote triage and casualty treatment information to 91W combat field medics. As a medical device, the system will be formally reviewed and approved by the FDA before fielding.
Polartec’s Combat Casualty Care fabrics site is located here…