Characterization of Screen-Printed Textile Electrodes Based on Conductive Polymer for ECG Acquisition

Abstract

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.

Validation of Polymer-Based Screen-Printed Textile Electrodes for Surface EMG Detection

“…Its presence could be substituted by tap water with similar results [20], thus supporting the idea that a better adhesion to the skin of the wet fabric is actually important [21]. Lastly, hydrogel was tested to have a closer comparison with disposable commercial electrodes [22]. In this case, the ionic concentration is typically higher, if compared to that of saline, and the adhesion with the skin is maximized by the adhesive nature of the material, improving the contact stability [21], [23].…”

Integration of Conductive Materials with Textile Structures, an Overview

“…Among the conductive polymers, polypyrrole (PPy), polyaniline (PANI) and polythiophene derivative poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) are the most successful in the production of conductive textile [77]. The conductivity of the polymers can be enhanced by adding organic solvents called dopants, for instance, the conductivity of PEDOT:PSS can be enhanced from one to three orders of magnitude by adding polar organic solvents like ethylene glycol, dimethyl sulfoxide, glycerol [78][79][80][81]. Therefore, these conductive polymers can be used to develop all building blocks of the smart textile system as a wide range of electrical properties could be achieved by playing with the polymer add-on, and the extent of dopant.…”

A Periodic Transmission Line Model for Body Channel Communication

“…Moreover, since BCC is intended for wearable biomedical applications the type electrodes could be modified to turn the device to a truly wearable piece of electronics. An interesting and appealing opportunity is represented by the investigation of textile electrodes, either metallic or polymer based [61], [62], already used for biopotentials acquisition [55], [63], [64]. In particular, the polymer-based electrodes are interesting because of their non-metallic nature which could hamper the signal transmission at the selected working frequencies.…”