Futuristic fashions will fight our health scares

LONDON, England (CNN) -- From sensors in workout gear that monitor sweating while you run at the gym, to underwear that aims to detect cancer cells, the contents of our wardrobes have been quietly undergoing a revolution.

Over the past decade, there has been a rise in the number of ways that technology is being incorporated into items of our clothing.

Trials of smart clothes that can repel insects and shrug off the smell of tobacco and other nasty smells have already proved successful and are slowly making their way into the retail world.

Analysts estimate the industry is worth roughly $400 million today and may reach $700 million by 2010, according to Military and Aerospace Electronics magazine.

Last year, a design student at Cornell University designed a garment that can prevent colds and flu and, crucially, never needs washing, and Textronics, a Delaware-based company has developed a sports bra which monitors heart rate and motion of runners.

The company has patented stretchy textile electrodes that can be incorporated into the garments. Tracksuits with in-built cooling , deodorant, moisturizer and even vitamins will be incorporated into fabrics in the future.

"The world is your oyster when it comes to the sorts of things you can do with clothing and technology. You're only limited by your imagination, really," says Dr Adam Best, a research scientist who has developed a shirt that produces electricity simply by being moved, such as when the wearer is walking.

Scientists in Europe are at also at an advanced stage of developing outfits which they say will be able to monitor the body's vital signs and detect illnesses and infections at their earliest stages.

The European Commission sponsored research project, centers on the development of biochemical sensing techniques compatible with integration into textile, called Biotex.

The first version will be able to monitor sweat by measuring acidity, salinity and perspiration rate.

Shirley Coyle, an engineer based at the National Centrex for Sensor Research at Dublin City University, is involved in the Biotex programmer.

"If clothes could talk, they could tell us so much about our bodies," says Dr Coyle.

"They are an interface between our bodies and the environment and in the future will prove a vital tool in health care. We are creating clothing with sensors that does not intrude on the comfort of the patient with wires."

Perhaps one of the most exciting developments in this field is ongoing work on a breast-screening smart bra which could allow wearers to detect breast cancer at the earliest stage.

Professor Elias Siores, of the University of Bolton, England says the bra can detect cancer before the tumor can develop and spread into the surrounding areas. Crucially, Prof Siores says the bra can also monitor the effectiveness of any breast cancer treatment the wearer is undergoing.

The smart bra works using a microwave antennae system device which is woven into the fabric of the bra. The antennae picks up any abnormal temperature changes in the breast tissue, abnormalities associated with cancer cells.

It is hoped the bra will hit the stores in a couple of years.

However, some remain doubtful as to whether the science behind the bra is achievable. There are also doubts whether the bra could replace traditional screening methods, such as a mammogram.

This is because the idea behind the bra supposes that as tumors grow, there will be a higher demand for blood flow. The increased blood flow then produces elevated temperatures around the affected area of the breast, sending a warning to the wearer.

However, critics say blood flow rates could be increased for any number of reasons.

There are benign growths and nonmalignant inflammatory changes, which might also increase blood flow," said Anne Rosenberg, a breast surgeon at Philadelphia's Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

However, the creators behind the new technologies are at pains to point out that these new "intelligent textiles" are designed to complement, not replace traditional diagnostic methods.

"This is an entirely new area, but every day we are discovering ways of adding new functions to textiles. It has so much potential. Our clothes will definitely play a very different role in the future," says Dr Coyle.