The development of wearable chemical sensors is receiving a great deal of attention in view of non-invasive and continuous monitoring of physiological parameters in healthcare applications. This paper describes the development of a fully textile, wearable chemical sensor based on an organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) entirely made of conductive polymer (PEDOT:PSS). The active polymer patterns are deposited into the fabric by screen printing processes, thus allowing the device to actually “disappear” into it. We demonstrate the reliability of the proposed textile OECTs as a platform for developing chemical sensors capable to detect in real-time various redox active molecules (adrenaline, dopamine and ascorbic acid), by assessing their performance in two different experimental contexts: i) ideal operation conditions (i.e. totally dipped in an electrolyte solution); ii) real-life operation conditions (i.e. by sequentially adding few drops of electrolyte solution onto only one side of the textile sensor). The OECTs response has also been measured in artificial sweat, assessing how these sensors can be reliably used for the detection of biomarkers in body fluids. Finally, the very low operating potentials (<1 V) and absorbed power (~10−4 W) make the here described textile OECTs very appealing for portable and wearable applications.
Wearable technologies represent the new frontier of vital sign monitoring in different applications, from fitness to health. With the progressive miniaturization of the electronic components, enabling the implementation of portable and hand‐held acquisition and recording devices, the research focus has shifted toward the development of effective and unobtrusive textile electrodes. These electrodes can represent an alternative to the Ag/AgCl disposable gelled electrodes usually adopted in clinical practice. This survey presents the main requirements for these electrodes, with a particular emphasis on those conceived for electrocardiographic signals, and the main challenges to be faced. An overview of the main materials and fabrication technologies presented so far in the scientific literature for this purpose is also given. The pieces of evidence resulting from the test of these electrodes clearly reveal the virtues and vices of current technologies, prospectively opening to their use in smart garments for real application scenarios.
The goal of this work was the characterization of textile ECG electrodes produced by screen printing with poly-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene doped with poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) conductive organic polymer. In particular, screen printed ECG electrodes were analyzed in the light of the ANSI/AAMI standard EC 12:2000 to reasonably understand their potentialities for the development of smart garments. In fact, smart garments have to be able to resist to everyday use, including the typical garment maintenance. Simulated washing cycles were performed following the ISO 105-C10:2006 standard, monitoring the variation of the noise and impedance, through bench procedures. Human tests revealed how the ECG signals obtained with screen printed electrodes were comparable to those achievable with disposable gelled Ag/AgCl ones. The high skin-electrode contact impedance of brand new electrodes in dry condition limited their usability, whereas the addition of an electrolyte led to comparable signal quality. Remarkably, washing cycles ameliorated the performance in dry conditions up to acceptable levels. This technique can then be used to create electrodes on finished garments, able to resist to everyday use.
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