Knitted ECG Electrodes in Relaxed Fitting Garments

Abstract

A wide range of signal quality indices (SQIs) related to statistical methods, are used to guide the optimisation process of knitted textile electrodes for ECG recordings. The electrode structure and composition as well as their integration into a garment are evaluated in view of a fully knitted garment. The dry electrodes with the best SQIs are obtained by using conductive yarn only with a compact knit structure and a medium level of roughness. The best SQIs for the e-garment were obtained by sewing electrodes at their edges only, into the knitted garment.This implementation outperforms the intarsia and double-knit method as it allows the garment some independent movement from the electrodes, reducing motion artifacts. Tests done on a healthy volunteer demonstrate excellent system performance under gentle ambulation. The advantage of using SQIs in the optimisation process of dry textile ECG electrodes is that they offer a quantitative benchmark against which to compare other approaches. The fully knitted clothing allows for more relaxed e-garments when gentle ambulation is considered.

The Influence of Distance between the Electrode and Noise Reduction Buffer Amplifiers in ECG Monitoring Using Knitted Electrodes

“…Continuous, user-friendly ECG monitoring is desirable as ECG signals can be used as indicators for several medical conditions (e.g., arterial fibrillation) and as a fitness metric for athletes. This has led to a desire to create ECG-monitoring e-textiles [1].…”

Washing and Abrasion Resistance of Textile Electrodes for ECG Measurements

“…Such full 12-lead ECG systems, however, are only infrequently integrated into textiles [7]. Instead, most textile-based ECG measurements are performed using three leads, often integrated into clothing similar to the positions Coatings 2023, 13, 1624 2 of 12 according to Einthoven [8][9][10]. This positioning is due to the fact that suitable pressure on the chest electrodes is hard to achieve by a textile fabric, especially in the case of female probands, and that the augmented limb leads according to Goldberger need more computation.…”

Design and Development of a Stretchable Electronic Textile and its Application in a Knee Sleeve Targeting Wearable Pain Management

“…Stretchable e-textiles are primarily made using knitting which is a well-established technique in the textile industry to realise stretchable, high elasticity fabrics. Knitting is used in various e-textile applications such as smart socks [12], gloves [13] and vests [14]. In such wearable functional e-textiles, the connection of the conductive yarn to the electrical wire is challenging, often exhibits low durability, and is unreliable.…”

“…In such wearable functional e-textiles, the connection of the conductive yarn to the electrical wire is challenging, often exhibits low durability, and is unreliable. In this paper, instead of using an electrical clip [13] or wrapping the connection point using tape [14], a metal snap button is assembled on the knitted fabric to provide interconnection, offering a reliable and simple connection to external electronics.…”