Flexible Wearable Systems Based on Fiber Bragg Grating Technology for Monitoring Respiratory Parameters and Body Postures in Clinical and Occupational Settings

The 21st century has been an era marked by profound technological innovation that has led to the digitization of every aspect of our daily lives. Among the sectors that have been most involved in the process, the 4.0 paradigm has had a particular impact on industry and healthcare, placing the well-being of workers and patients in the spotlight. In fact, the digital breakthrough has brought substantial changes in the way of working, putting the occupational health and safety of the workers at the foreground. On the other hand, digitalization has enabled the transition from a hospital-centered to a patient-centered approach to healthcare. In this context, the use of wearable technologies has been given wide resonance, as wearables can be valuable allies in the care of individuals, helping to make an assessment of their general health status by monitoring some significant parameters related to physical (e.g., respiratory rate, posture, or body movement) and psychological conditions (e.g., respiratory rate) of the user. This is of great utility in both the occupational field, to assess the health status of ever more stressed and sedentary workers, and the clinical setting, to monitor the well-being of patients and the correct execution of rehabilitation tasks. This thesis work aims at presenting novel flexible wearable systems based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing technology to take advantage of their excellent features (i.e., small dimensions, flexibility, high sensitivity to strain and immunity to electromagnetic radiations). The preliminary study, the design and the fabrication steps that led to the realization of the devices, as well as their validation process have been accurately described. Such wearable systems aim to monitor the state of health of workers in their occupational setting and patients during rehabilitation processes through the detection of parameters related to the respiratory activity, movements and body postures.