Design of a TENS knee pad with integrated textile electrodes

Abstract

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is defined as the application of electrical current to the skin for paincontrol by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). The TENS treatment is extensively preferred since it issafe, not expensive and has no side effects when compared to drug therapy. TENS therapy is applied using clinical orportable type TENS devices and TENS electrodes. However, conventional electrodes are not hygienic because they arenot washable and their sticky structure makes patients uncomfortable. Furthermore, they are not suitable to beintegrated into a smart garment. In this study, a knee pad with integrated electrodes and textile transmission lines havebeen designed and developed to be used for TENS therapy. Electrical resistance values of textile electrodes andtransmission lines which are integrated into the knee pad were measured. The developed knee pad was connected toa commercially available TENS device and electrical current transmission on subjects was tested. Furthermore, washingtests were conducted on the knee pad.