E-Textiles Network Webinar: Co-Design of Wearable E-Textile Devices for Healthcare Applications
Presented by Gillian Lake-Thompson, University of Southampton
Co-design is a collaborative design approach that actively involves end users and stakeholders to ensure that solutions meet real needs and reflect lived experiences. At the WSA E-Textile Innovation Lab at Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton, we apply co-design and human factors principles to develop wearable e-textiles for healthcare and wellbeing applications.
This presentation will introduce our lab’s research focus, spanning sustainability, scalable manufacturing, novel materials, and collaborations with industry and third-sector organisations, alongside an overview of our facilities and interdisciplinary team. We’ll outline how we work with end users and clinicians, and highlight the role of co-design in improving usability, safety, comfort, and adoption.
A range of methods will be discussed, including Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) workshops, interviews, focus groups, diary studies, and lab and home-based usability testing. Three case studies will illustrate our approach: an e-textile fetal monitoring garment, an FES garment for stroke shoulder rehabilitation, and a TENS device for managing knee osteoarthritis pain.
Gillian Lake-Thompson is an e-textile technician and lab manager at the WSA E-Textile Innovation Lab, Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton. With a background in garment and textile design, she leads on co-design with end users and e-textile development. Her project experience includes work on e-textiles for stroke rehabilitation, fetal monitoring, and pain management. Her interests include sustainable textile materials and processes, end user engagement, functional garment development, ethics and regulatory compliance, and partnership co-ordination.
This webinar took place on Tuesday 15th July 2025 12.00-1.00pm (BST).
Co-Design for Wearable E-Textile Devices for Healthcare Applications presentation