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CNN Sunday Morning

`Smart Shirts' May Aid Military Operations

Aired December 16, 2001 - 07:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Could an item of battlefield gear being developed for the military soon find its way into mainstream civilian life?

CNN's Sean Callebs sought out the answer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Troops navigating the terrain in Afghanistan carry the latest technology available. Soon, combat forces may have one more weapon hidden underneath a flak jacket and uniform: this stretchy, form-fitting pullover.

SUNDARESAN JAYARAMAN, SHIRT DEVELOPER: What I'm wearing is what we call a Smart Shirt.

CALLEBS: It represents years of lab research. The Smart Shirt has a number of sensors and fiber-optics are woven throughout. The sensors are hooked up to monitors, so troops' vital signs, such as heartbeat, EKG can be monitored from a remote site. Even more importantly, if a bullet or shrapnel pierces the shirt, the optic fiber is broken.

JAYARAMAN: So you can identify where the soldier has been shot. And simultaneously, what you're able to do is, using the sensors that are in the fabric that are on the body, you're able to find out what his vital signs are.

CALLEBS: And if he is alive.

The military provided nearly half a million dollars for research.

(on camera): Georgia Tech sold the rights to a New York company called Sensatex. It's now developing shirts for a variety of uses, including one for a baby to monitor vital signs to guard against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, one for the elderly upon leaving the hospital, and one for athletes, to gauge heart rate, respiration and performance.

JOE WOLF, SENSATEX: The main focus is really getting their information and using this information to improve health and improve performance. Those are the two key things.

CALLEBS (voice-over): The commercial Smart Shirt should hit stores in the spring, and with monitor sell for about $200. The military shirts will take more time and cost considerably more. But developers like to point out, you can't put a cost on human life.

Sean Callebs, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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