# Thermochromic Yams' Application in Fever Detection for Young Children
###### Abstract
While the garment reacted appropriately to the temperature change, the thermochromic coating caused the fabric to curl naturally, making it challenging to stitch evenly. The increased thickness of the fabric made the garment's breathability questionable. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [18] studied thermochromic materials for monitoring newborns' temperature by utilizing thermochromic fabrics through printing, sewing, and knitting techniques. They conducted interviews, testing, and prototyping to assess and validate the adaptability of the product concept. Their research explored various prototyping concepts utilizing thermochromic materials. However, testing was not conducted at skin temperature, making it impossible to determine if the prototype could effectively detect fever. While much research exists on innovative textiles and applications, researchers often focus solely on developing new products without exploring consumer perceptions of them [6]. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [19] identified various obstacles affecting consumers' interest in smart clothing, including but not limited to safety, functionality, availability, reliability, price, aesthetics, and size. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [20] found that users prefer a body-worn sensor system that is compact, embedded, and simple to operate and maintain. While [PERSON] and [PERSON] [18] conducted interviews with consumers, the discussion was mainly on how consumers react to the importance of body temperature monitoring instead of their attitudes towards the prototype ideas. Consequently, due to their current absence, it is critical to incorporate consumer preference investigations into developing new smart and functional textile goods [20]. A literature analysis highlighted the necessity of creating body temperature monitoring devices that can continually and inconspicuously measure the temperatures of young children. Such a product will ease parents' worries about fever and provide a means to monitor their children's body temperature. Advanced textiles, such as smart textiles or functional textiles, have the potential to provide answers because of their flexibility and ability to be worn near the body. Because incorporating electrical devices into smart textiles has posed difficulties regarding comfort and washability, researchers have investigated functional textiles using thermochromic mechanisms to monitor body temperature. Nevertheless, current studies on thermochromic fabrics encountered difficulties in maintaining material flexibility [17], conducting tests in a simulated body temperature environment [18], and exploring consumer perceptions of such products [17; 18]. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate thermochromic yarns' application in fever detection for young children, particularly focusing on testing prototypes in a controlled environment, simulating fever and non-fever conditions, and empirically investigating target consumers' perceptions of such products. More precisely, two research questions (RQ) were formulated:  
RQ1. Is it feasible to utilize yarns coated with encapsulated thermochromic pigment to create a knitted structure to detect a body surface's elevated temperature (fever)? If so, how would the variation in colour change (fever vs. non-fever) differ across various aesthetic settings? RQ2. How do prospective buyers see the fever-detecting prototype being used for young children? In the following sections, we first explained the materials employed in this research, including the design prototype and knitted samples utilized to assess performance. Subsequently, we disclosed the data collection and analysis approach to tackle the research questions. The results and discussion section responded to the research questions. The conclusion section offered a concise summary of the research's contribution. Finally, researchers identified limits that would shape the focus of future studies.