T-shirt monitors sleep patterns of the wearer

We’ve already seen several innovations geared toward helping consumers track their sleep patterns during the night — most recently, the Zeo Personal Sleep Coach system — but typically they all require that the user wear some sort of conspicuous additional monitoring device in order to accomplish that task. Not so the Somnus Sleep Shirt, a sensor-embedded t-shirt that can simply be worn instead of a regular undershirt. Based on research performed at MIT and a collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital, Nyx Devices’ Somnus Sleep Shirt is constructed from lightweight and breathable material for maximum comfort. Embedded within that fabric, however, are thin and flexible respiration sensors that measure the wearer’s breathing as he or she moves around in bed. The sensors are made out of common t-shirt vinyl that can be applied to almost any type of fabric, Nyx says. The accompanying SleepLogger, meanwhile, is a key-sized device that fits in a small pocket at the bottom of the Sleep Shirt and powers the sensors throughout the night. The SleepLogger can record data for up to five nights; each time it’s connected to the shirt, it automatically starts recording data. Then, when it’s charged in the morning, that data is automatically and securely transferred to Nyx’s website for analysis. Now in the midst of testing the shirt, Boston-based Nyx aims for a commercial launch by the summer of next year, according to a report on Technology Review. Pricing will be below USD 100. One to get involved in early? Spotted by: Katharina Kieck