0. cover page title of project: optimal rehabilitation …...union’s horizon 2020 this project has...

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement N° 824825

0. Cover Page

Title of project: Optimal rehabilitation smart glove

End market(s) targeted: (Protection, sports, medical, consumer health, industrial, architecture,

interior, transport…) remember that fashion applications are excluded

List of SMEs/start-ups participants (Please only fill in lines 2, 3… if your project is composed of

more than 1 SME/start-up applying for direct funding from SmartX)

Participant No Participant (organization

name)

Country Please describe in 2-3 lines what the

SME/start-up is specialized in

11 IMAZ TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION, S.R.L.

Spain Technology provider, specialized one development

of Flexile and Printed Electronic. It has complete

value chain of development from raw material

production, ink formulation, printing methods,

device development and characterization

List of other contributors to your project (please mention any organization that will directly

contribute to or participate in your project activities, whether being compensated by the SME

applicant or not)

Contributor

(organization

name)

Type of

organization

Country Please describe in 2 lines what the partner will

do to contribute to the project

EURECAT Research Organization

Spain Integration of the sensors in a usable glove. Characterisation of the performance of the concept. Short series production.

Pare de Salut

Mar (PSMAR)

Large

healthcare

institute

Spain Healthcare facility with a complete range of

healthcare and tertiary services to validate the

final product within their facilities

1 Main applicant must be SME/start-up


Evaluation Part 1 – Business Innovation Potential (max. 5 pages)

● Describe your targeted innovative solution addressing a clear market need.

Rehabilitation procedures help patients who have suffered from chronic problems that may affect their hand

function. The recent developments in wearable and Internet-of-Things (IoT) allow to monitor the

rehabilitation progress with more accuracy and reliability. Our optimal rehabilitation smart glove is an

accurate, reliable and automated solution for self-tracking and quantifying the rehabilitation progress of

patients on real time. It measures hand joints movements with high accuracy of <1º, by using the pressure

sensors at the fingertips and hand palm measures the grip strength, additionally it includes 9 axis

accelerometer to measure orientation of hand and as well the electromyogram (EMG) sensor for measuring

the muscles activities and monitoring of nerve signal strength. The smart glove interfaces with the user by

using Bluetooth for communication. The combination of the smart glove with smart phone/Table/PC

applications allows the therapists and patients to keep record of their progress and monitor the rehabilitation

process. Wearables are gaining widespread use and technologies are making it possible to monitor human

physical activity and behavior as part of connected infrastructures. Several assessment techniques and tools

are currently available, but not fully computerized, nor set in a useful single device. Measuring hand range

of motion (ROM) and force is not exclusive for medical application, but also for athletic activities monitoring.

Our innovative smart glove is a sensor-embedded glove which measures hand motion and contact pressure

and assesses muscle function (biofeedback) during rehabilitation process or gesturing and manipulation

tasks. Human hands, specifically the wrist, play a crucial role in performing various activities in daily life. Many

daily activities pose hazards to wrist and hand postures. Generally, wrist disorders could be recovered by

undergoing rehabilitation exercises. Muscle strength is one of the most important standards that reflect level

of human health. In physical therapy, rehabilitation is required for patients with conditions such as hand

injury caused by sports or working with computers, trauma or surgery, and stroke. For such patients, the

decreased range of motion (ROM), flexion, and/or extension cannot be regained fully. In the rehabilitation

process therapist evaluate the level of disability, to select the suitable therapeutic strategy and to track the

effectiveness of treatments. Some exercises are recommended in hand rehabilitation are flexion, extension,

wrist rock stretch, ulnar deviation, radial deviation, pronation, and tendon glides. Proper hand rehabilitation

is needed for vocational and functional restoration of hands that has been helpful in retraining hand function

and decreasing the spasticity seen in stroke conditions. One of the major problems causing dysfunction of

hand is spasticity and the most important step in the evaluation of injured hand is muscle strength

assessment. The biofeedback from smart glove and artificial neural network algorithm using backpropagation

method for the classification of the injury level with high accuracy in real time helps the rehabilitation process

to restore the ability of daily living performance.


● Explain your competitive advantage over existing solutions.

Treatment for hand deformities is planned by doctors and clinicians after performing a complete checkup of

the patient using radiative techniques, such as X-rays, or manual techniques, such as inspection of hand,

health assessment questionnaires and examining a range of motion of all hand joints. The prescribed

treatment mainly consists of physical therapy of hands to strengthen the muscles and thus recover the lost

functionality of joints. People engaged in rehabilitation operate in the dark, lacking actionable real-time

exercise guidance. Our smart glove is a user-centric data capture platform for a range of current and future

intelligent rehabilitation, healthcare and exercise products and services, addressing the therapeutic,

motivational and training needs of patients and athletes. For a short time, we are launching an exclusive

program for the team of therapists at Parc de Salut Mar (PSMAR), Centro Forum at Barcelona, Spain, selected

patients will be the first to use our devices. PSMAR will evaluate the desire of patients, Physiotherapists. The

user’s need assessment will use to complete the requirement, usability and acceptability evaluation,

behavioral and subjective impact (clinical study). As a result of the feedback, the design of glove, monitoring

parameters, required resolution for each sensor, data managing and application interface will be optimized

in order to develop more user friendly product and as result improve recovery time, real time monitoring

and decision making based on patient recovery history. As a long-term strategy, we will promote our product

and results through ddistribution channels: health insurance organizations, B2C smart garment companies,

etc. Demonstration events: MEDICA Trade Fair, Health & Rehab, exhibition for disabled people, social

networks, conferences, workshops and European occupational health conferences, scientific and

technological magazines and publications, project website, press releases, general purpose newspapers and

magazines. Over the past 30 years or more, researchers have begun developing wearable devices, particularly

glove-based systems, to recognize hand gestures. Different working principles have been studied during

these years to find a good trade-off between precision, accuracy, and obtrusiveness. Traditionally therapists

monitored rehabilitation progress by using either universal goniometer or electric goniometer for measuring

the range of motion (ROM) and dynamometers for hand grip force measurement. These methods combined

with assessment questionnaires to quantify disease progression and audio-visual feedback are used to

monitor the rehabilitation process. Comparison of Various Wearable Technologies for Rehabilitation Glove

to measure ROM can be categorized in: flex sensor based, accelerometer based, vision based, hall-effect

based, stretch sensor based and magnetic sensor based (●: Desirable,●: Nominal,●: Worst).

Technology Accuracy Performance Cost Lifetime

Flex sensor based ● ● ● ●

Accelerometer based ● ● ● ●

Vision based ● ● ● ●

Hall-effect based ● ● ● ●

Stretch sensor based ● ● ● ●

Magnetic sensor based ● ● ● ●


Our solution intends to address an optimal rehabilitation glove in terms of accuracy, cost and reliability.

Much attention has been given to glove-based systems because of the natural fit of developing something to

be worn on the hand to measure hand movement and finger bending. A glove-based system can be defined

as: “a system composed of an array of sensors, electronics for data acquisition/processing and power supply,

and a support for the sensors that can be worn on the user’s hand”. The various devices can differ based on

sensor technologies (i.e. piezoresistive, fiber optic, hall effect, etc.), number of sensors per finger, sensor

support (i.e. cloth or mechanical support), sensor location (i.e. hand joints, fingertip positions, etc.), and

others. A typical example of a glove-based system is the CyberGlobe, a cloth device with 18 or 22 piezo-

resistive sensors that measures the flexion and the abduction/adduction of the hand joints (depending on

the number of sensors, the measurable movements increase). It is considered one of the most accurate

commercial systems and has provided good results in recognizing sign language based on the biomechanical

characteristics of the movement of the hand. CyberGlove showes good results also in applications of robot

control and 3-D modelling. Another example of a glove-based system is the 5DT Glove, which is based on

optical fiber flexor sensors. The bending of the fingers is measured by measuring the intensity of the returned

light indirectly. Each finger has a sensor that measures the overall flexion of the finger. This device is famous

for application in virtual reality. The smart glove which uses only flex sensor problem of repeatability and

decreases in their accuracy over time and exhibit moderately slow response time due to their physical

deformation. KeyGlove, Gest and Acceleglove use accelerometers to provide gesture recognition capabilities

for PC control and gaming consoles. The accuracy of these gloves is up to a few degrees, which makes them

not too suitable for precise measurement of hand joint angles, which is a requirement for rehabilitation.

Other examples of glove-based systems used for sign language include cloth supported bend sensors based

on the Hall Effect mounted together with an accelerometer as well as flex and contact sensors. At university

of Pisa, N. Carbonaro added textile electrodes and an inertial motion unit to the deformation sensors of the

glove-based device to add emotion recognition made through electrodermal activity. As conclusion all these

gloves with different technologies provide reasonable alternatives for input devices for gaming consoles but

they are not suitable for hand rehabilitation since their sensors are not placed for measuring the

corresponding joint movements with high resolution and proper backend system for data analysis and

recovery monitoring.

Describe your business model.

There will be a partnership with a service provider that host the platform (ex. Microsoft Azure). IMAZ is the

hardware provider (design and development of the new versions of the sensing glove) always working to

provide improvements, new versions of the glove. IMAZ being the ideator of the system has also revenues

on the service provided by the host of the platform. Service is provided to rehabilitation centers, to public

health system (PSMAR), to Mutual Insurance Company for Occupational Accidents and etc. The sensorized


glove is a consumable to provide data to the platform. The model to offer the service includes license to use

the platform and the use of the glove can be associated to direct sales or to a rental model (service revenues

and subscription). Ones the project is finished a new investment will be needed to develop a platform to host

the service. EURECAT will help to find possible partners for these collaborations since they have work with

entities that are already providing platform services to health institutions for other kind of applications. The

multi-patient hire method is based on contacting different health centers that match our profile of patients,

we rank each one and summarize their profile, patient portfolio and number of therapists with full contact

information. At this point, IMAZ will present the smart glove with full details and how they could launch the

monitoring system in their center, after reaching an agreement performing final due diligence and securing

a contract! The rising demand for sustainable healthcare systems has increased the importance of Active &

Assisted Living (AAL) Programme developments, services, and products by the member countries and the

European Commission. The market for medical electronics is expected to reach USD 6.6 billion by 2025,

whereas the smart home market, which has been experiencing steady growth, is expected to reach USD

151.4 billion by 2024. Thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT), driving the next generation of connected

healthcare, the digitalization of healthcare is already underway, but because of the slower tempo of

technological adoption by healthcare insiders, as compared to other industries, digitalization has not been

so obvious. The digital revolution is arriving at a hospital near you, and not a moment too soon! And this will

help us to grow beyond the initial market. The smart glove can provide information to physiographists even

from home which gives ability to control the recovery plan of patients. Right now, the manufacturing of the

sensorized glove is quite complex process that requires many manipulations. We expect to overcome this

limitation to scale up the business during the smart-x project where we plan to identify main limitations for

an optimal industrialisation process in order to redesign the maximum and minimise the complexity of

manufacturing. Thanks to the collaboration with EURECAT and PSMAR, this main issue will be addressed.

Describe how you plan to develop, maintain and grow your customer relationships?

IMAZ Primary sales strategy is based on a direct sale and services to the host of the platform such as

rehabilitation centers, public health system, mutual insurance companies for occupational accidents and etc.

in strategic geographical zones (Spain and Europe first, USA and Japan in the second phase) with a product

able to compete with gaming technology such as Cyberglove and KeyGlove. To do so, a commercial team

from IMAZ Primary will be dedicated to each of those areas under supervision of Texfor as couch with the

following market entree phases: Phase 1: Smart glove consortium. One of the key points of our commercial

strategy is the establishment of consortiums and agreements with key companies and health centers in order

to get easier and faster entrance to the market. Our objective is to exploit image and resources of

multinational enterprises and launch our innovation into the international market. An agreement has been


already signed to ensure the development of IMAZ primary smart glove with UPC university. Additionally

Parc de Salut Mar, Centro Forum at Barcelona Parc (PSMAR) as large end-users and contributor to this project

will validate the final product which will develop within this project by collaboration with Eurecat under

supervision and couching support of Texfor. This will ensure a quick first sale in the first 6 months in the

market at a national level. As an example of Market volume with approximate 6000 patients per year (one

Clinic with 6 Therapists). Considering, 25-38% of patients who suffers from hand and wrist injuries, and taking

into account the lifespan of 2 years for each glove (8h continues use) this represents around 750-1140 smart

gloves per year only for the micro-scale regional market. Furthermore, other profitable companies and

consortiums in the health sector will be explored. Phase 2: Demonstration and visit to new clients (mainly in

Europe). Through the SmartX platform and The European eHealth Multidisciplinary Stakeholder Platform

(EHTEL), a commercial presentation of IMAZ and its product will be organized with other European health

centers. First meeting will be in February 11-12, 2021, ICPTSTMI 2021 at Barcelona, Spain. In March 2021 the

IMAZ will participate in competition for best start-up innovation prize for European call LOPEC 2021, this

allows the development of the technology in the frame of the most advanced applications in printed and

flexible electronic. Phase 3: After a 1-2 years sale experience in Spain, IMAZ will start its commercial activities

in the European market having its own sales offices. Phase 4: Around the same time, IMAZ will launch the

development and design of new smart gloves for athletes and gamers and other formats to access new

market sectors. Previously to commercialize our product we will have the CE Marking, fundamental

requirement for medical devices. The Medical Device Regulation (MDR) came into force as a new EU

regulation for medical devices in May 2017, this is set to replace the Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC

(MDD). We will establish stable and long term service contract with customers, branding and will create unit

image in e-Health and rehabilitation monitoring systems (especially smart gloves). We will do updates and

upgrades of the glove and its application in a regular basis, in order to maintain quality and customer

satisfaction.

● Describe the motivation and incentives of your company and your partnership

The main motivation is to use our technical knowledge to create a more effective solution for rehabilitation

programs and in this way to contribute to improve the quality of life of people suffering from chronic

problems that may affect their hand function. By consideration of current status of product and its maturity

level, technically and scientifically experience of teams involved the project, it will have a very low probability

of facing any blocking obstacle which cause to abandon this project. Even though in case of meeting

obstacles, or already detected risks with contingency plan, we will consider to add new partners,

collaborations and will search for new ways to finance the project such as new calls and investors to solve

any issues on our way of success. The only reason to abandon would be in case of force majeure.


Evaluation Part 2 – Operational Excellence (Max.3 pages)

Describe the status of your project at time of application

By combination of different technologies together we developed an optimal rehabilitation glove in terms of

accuracy, performance, reliability, cost and the lifetime, which are the most important parameters while

designing a rehabilitation glove. Important to note that the accuracy parameter considers for both the

sensing ability and the response time of a wearable technology, i.e., the desirable accuracy would mean to

precisely and efficiently detect the movements. It is clear that the flex sensor and accelerometer are the most

optimal technologies for finger and wrist range of motion monitoring. The flex sensor based technology

provides the best accuracy and lifetime, while the accelerometer based technology provides the best

performance and cost. Flexpoint bend sensors to measure the joint angles, and pressure sensors at the

fingertips and hand palm to measure the grip strength of the hand and finger force. The pressure sensors

made up of polyester with a linearity error of ±<3%, repeatability of ±<2.5% and a response time of <5 𝜇s. In

order to increase the reliability and resolution of sensor, the raw data from these sensors is conditioned using

a voltage buffer, which is implemented using the LM324 Operational Amplifiers (Op-Amps). The MPU-9250

Nine-Axis (Gyro + Accelerometer + Compass) MEMS MotionTracking sensor integrated the wrist to measure

wrist ROM Additionally EMG 100716 with Bandwidth: 25-482Hzand Input impedance: 10GOhm used to

analysis and monitor of electrical signals emanating from skeletal muscles. Low cost, Low power consumption

(2.8 to 3.6V) and small size microcontroller such as ESP32 with an integrated Bluetooth and WiFi, 18 high

resolution analog inputs (12 bits) is incorporated to central unit of smart glove. The smartphone application,

interfaced using Bluetooth, with the glove for easy user accessibility. The app mainly allows data

management of disease progression and sharing of data with therapists and other patients. Moreover, the

app also facilitates the therapists in keeping record of all patients and facilitate a comprehensive diagnosis

process and thus more effective treatments. As current status of overall status of project based on

technology readiness level (TRL) is TRL5/6 and for each subsystem differently according to the following: -

Sensors (TRL9), - Integration in textile glove (TRL4). - Electronic control unit (including firmware for signal

processing) (TRL5), - Back end system (Intelligence to evaluate data coming from the wearable and

visualisation) (TRL2/3). The developed system exhibited quite promising results for overcoming the major

shortcomings of conventional methods of hand joints monitoring and thus has the potential to revolutionize

the field of hand therapy. The high accuracy allows us to keep track of even the slightest increase or decrease

in the range of motion of hand joints. The smartphone connectivity allows sharing the live progress with

therapists and other patients, which greatly facilitates the rehabilitation process.


Describe and explain the concept and plan of activities that you and your partners will

implement during this project.

Main task to be performed during the project, responsible for the task and planning on timeline are

summarized in the following figure:

Milestones (M) and deliverables (D) expected during the project are described in the following text:

D1: First report on validation and characterization of sensor and smart glove

D2: Second report on validation and characterization of sensor and smart glove

D3: End user validation: usability, acceptability and functionality: optimization feedback

D4: 5/10 units Smart Glove production series, Final report for characterization and validation

M1: Time Schedule, Production of electronic (performance requirements and volume)

M2: Integration of sensor and electronic part, comfortability and usability of Smart glove

To finance the planned work, we are requesting 60,000€ of funding over 12 months. 20K€ of Expenses

related to project management, optimization of sensors, monitoring and placement, electronic and

firmware optimization that will be carried out by IMAZ. According to the plan in order to optimize the

product some activities need to be subcontracted. In all cases, the subcontracting process respects the

framework for subcontracting expenses within SmartX program assuring the best value for money according

to the rules. The identified subcontractors are: 35K€ for smart glove product development, sensor

integration and short series manufacturing of 5/10 units for user validation, EURECAT. 5K€ dedicated for

system validation, mainly focused on acceptance, usability and functionality, PSMAR. Following table

summarizes the budget distribution during the project:

Participant

No2

In-house

personnel

costs

Sub-

contracting

Material/

Component/

Technology

Travel

costs

Other

costs

Total Lump Sum

1 10,000€ 40,000€ 7,000€ 2,000€ 1,000€ 60,000€

Use 1 line per SME applicant. If only company applies for funding, use only 1 line.


Describe the team

Dr. Maziar Ahmadi Zeidabadi as an Associate Professor at Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and Co-

funder IMAZ Technology innovation S.R.L. is holding the Doctorate (PhD) in electronic engineering at

Polytechnic University of Catalonia (2016). His specialization and experience focused on the developing

manufacturing MEMS / NEMS devices. He has long experience in development of micro-devices, especially

3D micro-energy storages, Li-battery ion and supercapacitor. In addition, his research also included the

functionalization of pigments, the formulation of conductive and functional inks (Aqueous and organic base)

and developing flexible devices and stretchable printed devices.

Dr. Herminio Martínez-García is holding Ph.D. degree in Electronics Engineering from Polytechnic University

of Catalonia (UPC), Sine 2006 he is an Associate Professor at (EPIC) Group of the UPC. His research focuses

on the area of DC-DC power converters and their control, and analog circuit design with emphasis in analog

microelectronics. He has participated in 8 European international and 14 Spanish national research projects.

He has authored or co-authored about 65 scientific papers in journals, 218 in conference proceedings, and

35 books and book chapters.

Rosa Rodriguez is a senior researcher and leader of the eTextiles group at Eurecat– Centre Tecnològic de

Catalunya, holding BA. in Fashion from University of Southampton and EATM. She has extensive experience

in experimental textile design and in the development of demonstrators for intelligent and interactive textiles

for various fields of application such as health, motor and cognitive rehabilitation, sports, games and

entertainment, and interior design. She is a teaching at Elisava- School of Design and Engineering, and Escola

Massana- Art and Design Centre.

Virginia Garcia is leading the Functional Textile Research Unit at EURECAT since 2015. She is holding BS.c. In

Telecom. at University of Málaga (ETSI / UMA). She has experience in integration of RFID antennas within

functional textile structures and intelligent devices. Her market knowledge and long experience on textile

based solutions for industrial companies, she has become a referent on the research and innovation for

textile ecosystem, both national and international. She provides tools to textile companies to get close to the

new technologies and the innovative opportunities.

Dr. Esther Duarte (female), MD, PhD is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) specialist ,President of

the Catalan PMR Society, board member of the Spanish PMR Society and Prof. of Neurorehabilitation the

Universitat Autònoma of Barcelona. She is the responsible of the Rehabilitation Research Group (RERG) in

the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute. Her work focuses on translational research in the field of

stroke rehabilitation. In particular, she is interested in the management of spasticity and the use of new

technologies in the upper limb recovery, specially Virtual Reality and Music-supported therapy.


Evaluation Part 3 – European Smart Textiles Market Acceleration (Max. 2 pages)

European dimension of the partnership:

IMAZ Technology Innovation S.R.L. is a Start-up as part of group CIFMA, Polytechnic University of Catalonia

(UPC), It main activities and specialty is development of flexible and printed electronic, It contributes to R+D+i

in Printed electronic such as ink formulation, design and printing of lab-scale products for the promotion of

flexible and stretchable electronic. Additionally IMAZ development and commercialization of eco-friendly

process of metal Nano powder production that allowed us to supply our customers with low cost Nano-

powder.

Mar Parc de Salut de Barcelona (PSMAR) is a public institution responsible for several health care facilities

in the Barcelona area, including two general hospitals, an institute of psychiatry, an institute of geriatrics,

and various outpatient facilities dedicated to mental health, addictions, primary care and family planning.

The Rehabilitation Research Group (RERG) lead by Dra Duarte finds its main scientific objectives in advancing

in the knowledge on brain plasticity and motor recovery after brain damage, as well as evaluating the effect

of physical training on lung and heart diseases, cancer and ageing. RERG has participated in several studies

on neural plasticity observed through neuroimaging techniques from Music Therapy and Virtual Reality and

its effects on the motor recovery of the upper extremity in acquired brain lesions. Other lines of research on

neuro-rehabilitation are the study of oropharyngeal dysphagia and respiratory muscle training for patients

after a stroke.

Eurecat is currently the leading Technology Centre in Catalonia, and the second largest private research

organization in Southern Europe. Eurecat R&D, innovation and training activities span from Industrial

Technologies (metallic, plastic and composite materials, manufacturing processes, autonomous and

professional robotics, functional printing and fabrics, simulations, sustainability and Chemistry) to Digital

Technologies (Digital Humanities, Big Data Analytics, IT Security and Smart Management Systems, e-health,

data mining and multimedia technologies) and Biotech (Omic science and Nutrition & health. EURECAT as an

expert of Functional Textiles is one of the leading technologies centres in the development of the yarn

processing as well in the development of the woven and knitted structures for smart textiles. Exploring of

the textile structures and hybrid integration of different materials has generated new components to be used

in textile electronics. Besides, the core competence has increased in the area of using knitting, weaving, and

3D textile structures with new innovative ways.

Describe the research you have done

This project intends to be concluded in 12 months in order to have a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) previous

to the final product. However, dissemination actions will strongly continue after we will have a MVP for

validation through IMAZ and Eurecat, existing channels as well as new stakeholders which will be identified


during the implementation. IMAZ has segmented the clients’ universe for the purpose of communication by

sectors or segments of market. Besides, we will propose a range of specific activities that may be summarized

as follows: Website with the relevant technical information about the smart glove, including different

versions of the product, documentation, updated software, and audio-visual guides to support for the

monitoring systems and clinical application. Programmed, personalized and periodic visits to each customer,

organized to present the latest news concerning technology, updates, production, quality and logistics. The

actions described will be complemented with others aimed at the general market and they will serve to

promote our product image and its applications, and to arrive to possible hidden customers, as well as the

identification of new niches, i.e. such as Athletes and Gamers. Some actions include: Fairs. IMAZ will attend

to MEDICA (November 2020 Dusseldorf) and MATELEC (Madrid) fairs with special emphasis in medical

equipment sectors and electronic equipment respectively. Other fairs to be planned are LOPEC 2021 and the

IDTechX 2021 in Germany. Specifically, it is foreseen to have stand at LOPEC 2021. Technological and

scientific conferences. IMAZ will take part in different events such as seminars, workshop, congress, from

our technological responsible for the product promotion among scientific media. It is considered underline

that normally scientist of this sector acts as prescribers of technologies among end-users. IMAZ has been

participating in this type of congress for two years and the plan is to continuate as a suitable strategy.

Statistical analysis of patents (OECD.Stat) with specific IPC of G06F shows growth of 30% in total number of

patents and since 2019 with specific key word of “Smart Gloves”, scientific publication 122 articles and 25

patents has been published. Hence an Intellectual Property assessment with the scope of ensuring the

commercial exploitation of our innovation will be concluded during the feasibility study within the project.

The study will conduct by IMAZ and Eurecat that assess the “freedom to operate” of Smart glove market,

considering: 1) presence of competitors; 2) geographical areas. Eurecat has been selected as the technology

provider for its long experience in the integration of sensors and electronics on textile products. IMAZ has

been developing the total integrated smart glove with innovative materials, and the development of custom

new flexible and printed sensors that will offer opportunity for new patent applications. Beside this

patentable IP, substantial knowledge with regards to scale-up and improvement of the production process

will be generated, both for technology manufacturing and for product assembly. This knowledge will be kept

secret by IMAZ and its strategic partners Eurecat and PSMAR. Additionally majority of sensor-gloves

dedicated to virtual reality and gaming industry which does NOT require high quality design neither precision

of sensors as results but they are not adequate for rehabilitation and healthcare market. As secondary

advantage of this project, the precise and high quality smart glove as outcome this project provide wider

range of target markets such as Sport and fitness, Industry and Automotive, personal assistant for

impairment people and also virtual reality and gaming industry.


This technical application form contains confidential technical and business information.

While all SmartX project partners (Coaching Organisations) and Selection Committee

members have signed non-disclosure agreements (NDA) barring them from disclosing any

details to third parties, you can restrict access to this document to any of our Coaching

Organisations or Selection Committee members.

Coaching Organisations

Tick to restrict access

Selection Committee members Tick to restrict access

Centexbel, BE Stefano Carosio, Unismart – Uni. of Padua, IT Euramaterials, FR Joao Gomes, CeNTI, PT IFM, FR Rainer Guenzler, Hahn-Schickhart, DE Citeve, PT Simon Hjelte, Incubator Boras, SE Steinbeis, DE Romano Hoofman, imec, BE DSP Valley, BE Raquel Ledo, CTAG, ES Texfor, ES Julien Payen, Lattice Medical, FR CITC, FR Etienne Fradin-Beaugerie, UTC, FR Pointex, IT Henk Vanhoutte, European Safety Federation, BE Sourcebook, DE Daniela Zavec, Titera, SI Smart Textiles, SE Christian Dalsgaard, Ohmatex, DK DITF, DE Francesca Rosella, CuteCircuit, UK

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