A review of textile-based electrodes developed for electrostimulation

Abstract

Electrical stimulation can be used for the treatment of various nerve and muscle injuries as well as acute and chronic pain conditions. An electrical pulse is applied to a muscle or nerve to activate excitable tissue using internal or external electrodes with the aim of building muscle strength, artificially creating or supporting limb movement or reducing pain. Textile electrodes offer several advantages over conventionally used disposable surface electrodes: they are flexible and re-usable and they do not require hydrogels, thereby avoiding skin irritation and allergic reactions and enhancing user comfort. This article presents a literature review that assesses the state of research on textile electrode constructions. Based on the review, production approaches and designs are compared, methods for evaluating stimulation discomfort and pain are proposed and issues related to user compliance are discussed. The article concludes with suggestions for future work focused on investigating the impacts of textile-based electrode parameters on comfort, convenience and ease of use.

A review on the recent developments in design and integration of electromyography textile electrodes for biosignal monitoring

“…129 From the sustainability perspective, the recycling the Micro/Nano electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) incorporated in to the fabric is challenging and is under review. 130,131 Dry textile electrodes sometimes perform less than the gel electrodes especially, when motion artifact are present. Researchers have suggested applying sufficient quantity of water or saline solution onto the dry electrodes to achieve performance comparable to that of the conventional gel electrodes.…”

Seamlessly integrated textile electrodes and conductive routing in a garment for electrostimulation: design, manufacturing and evaluation

“…In a recent review of textile electrodes for stimulation Euler et al has mapped out much of the work done hitherto. They found that the samples investigated ranged over most common textile techniques: printing, coating, knitting, weaving and non-woven methods 20 . In a related paper by the same group, they found that a high density of yarns if favourable, and that in the case of dry electrodes that an uneven surface is beneficial 21 .…”

Development and Characterization of Embroidery-Based Textile Electrodes for Surface EMG Detection

“…Textile-based electrodes, a type of dry electrode, are being developed by fabricating fabrics, such as knitting, weaving, and embroidery, using metal wire or conductive yarn, or coating or printing on various substrate materials [15][16][17][18][19]. In this case, the inner electrode of the clothing must be in contact with the skin to collect bio-signals, and the outer electrode must be designed to connect to a device capable of collecting electromyography.…”