Body Scanners as Tools for Designing Medical Protective Clothing

By merely stepping into a darkened booth, gripping a couple of handles and pushing a trigger with your thumb, you one day may be able to virtually try on garments and find the perfect fit all without a glance in a mirror or a second opinion from a shopping companion.

The procedure, which uses a body scanner, is a high-tech alternative to the time-consuming and sometimes frustrating process of finding clothes that emphasize ones best body features and minimize flaws. A body scanner is the future of fashion, and students and faculty in Baylor Universitys family and consumer sciences department are getting a head start, says Dr. Rinn Cloud, the Mary Gibbs Jones Endowed Chair in Textiles at Baylor in Waco, Texas.

Its a sophisticated work in progress, and retail applications are in the early stage, but there are all kinds of other possibilities, among them design of posture-improving clothes or protective clothing for those in the medical field, she says.

The issues in the medical field are fit, comfort, mobility and how quickly you can get the protective garment on and off, Cloud says. If youre a nurse treating a bleeding patient, but the fluid-resistant gown is preventing your movements, theres more of a chance you wont wear it.
Baylors $35,000 scanner and software work this way: You step into a curtained dressing room for privacy, don form-fitting clothes such as bike shorts and a tank top or sports bra, then step into an octagonal chamber, complete with piped-in music.

Plant your feet on the markers, hold your arms out to the side to clasp handles and push a button. White lights flash and 32 cameras capture a 360-degree image with hundreds of measurements all in less than 30 seconds. Once you emerge from the booth, a high-resolution, three-dimensional body shape is displayed on a computer screen. With a little clicking and dragging of the computers mouse, the avatar-like image can be rotated, enlarged, panned and tilted forward and backward, and virtual clothing can be wrapped around the body.

Right now, the pre-loaded wardrobe for Adam and Eva is basic: a black jacket, blue sweater or white shirt for men and a few styles of dresses or pantsuits for women. Hair color or style and skin tone can be added using personal photos or by selecting from a menu. Hair choices range from bobs, long waves and crew cuts to thinning hair, pigtails and dreadlocks.

The body scan data is compatible for use with software programs designed to customize avatars, including some being developed by retailers for virtual dressing rooms. As apparel designers, manufacturers and retailers blend technology into their work, options will multiply.

With the scanner providing cross sections, surface areas and slices of the body, consumers can provide detailed body information that allows design and production of tailor-made clothes at reasonable prices. Ready-to-wear clothes also will be improved as nationwide data bases of 3D information will allow apparel developers to accommodate such traits as short waists or wide hips.

TC2 manufacturer of the NX16 body scanner at Baylor has been a leader in developing the Size USA database with more than 11,000 volunteer participants in 12 United States locations.

its great for students to experiment with the technology and get a jump on it, says Dr. Jay Yoo, an assistant professor of family and consumer sciences who teaches fashion theory and consumer behavior at Baylor.

One of the first volunteers to step into Baylors booth, Yoo gave a heads-up to wannabe users.

Unless youre a super-model, the scan is unforgiving, he said. Its one thing for 18- to 22-year-old students to do this, but when I got in there, I took a deep breath and held my stomach in."