AirSleeve Prototype Assembly

On March 3rd we began assembling a test sleeve with one of the initial 3D printed holders. The first holder was installed in the rectus femoris region. First, a hole was cut in the leg sleeve along the outline of the sensor such that it was the same size as the sensor’s footprint. Then the base of the holder was stitched on using about one quarter of the available stitch holes, to test out if the placement would be acceptable.

Following the trial of the initial test sleeve, a final sleeve was assembled. While wearing the leg sleeves, the locations of the six target muscles were identified and marked by contracting the muscles feeling for the correct location. The base component of each sensor holder was stitched onto the sleeve at the correct location using nylon thread. A rectangular hole roughly the same size as the sensor was then cut at each holder location using an exacto knife. A burning technique was used to prevent the fabric edges from fraying. The final stitched base and cutout is shown for one of the six holders in the image below.

With the holder securely attached to the sleeve, the sensors can then be easily clipped onto the sleeve, as shown in the image below.