Fabric Electrode Monitoring of Dynamic and Static ECG Signal and Comfort Performance

Abstract

To monitor dynamic ECG for a long time, fabric electrodes must have excellent comfort and electrical properties. In addition, the quality of the collected ECG should be as free as possible from interference by motion artifacts due to dry skin and body movement. This study explores the comfort of four different materials and structures of silver-plated fabric electrodes, analyzing the acquisition effect of ECG signals under dynamic and static conditions. To obtain fabric electrodes with good comfort levels and stable ECG signal monitoring under dynamic and static conditions, four kinds of electroless silver-plated conductive fabrics were selected and assembled into fabric electrodes. Permeability, electrochemical impedance spectrum, static opening voltage, and dynamic static electrocardiogram were tested and evaluated for each of the four fabric electrodes; additionally, the comfort of the four fabric electrodes and the mass of ECG monitored under dynamic and static conditions were assessed. The results showed that the highly hygroscopic knitted fabric electrode showed better comfort than the other three samples. The electrochemical impedance spectrum curve of the highly hygroscopic knitted fabric electrode was relatively smooth and stable, and it had lower impedance than the other electrodes; moreover, the static open-circuit voltage changed more stably with the increase of processing time compared to the other samples. The four kinds of fabric electrodes all collected clear and stable ECG in the resting state. However, in dynamic conditions, only the highly hygroscopic knitted fabric electrodes collected stable ECG under the conditions of seven daily life actions, clearly distinguishing between the P-wave, QRS wave group, and T-wave. The knitted fabric electrode has a high correlation with the ECG measured by a disposable gel electrode, meeting the standards needed to monitor ECG during the human body’s daily activities.