Smart Textile Materials for Monitoring ECG Signals

Smart textiles play a significant role in wearable devices for monitoring the physiological parameters of the human body, such as heart rate, temperature, pressure, etc. The electrocardiograph (ECG) is the most used heart diagnostic tool that records the heart's electrical signals (heart rhythm). The current ECG electrodes used in the hospital for ECG signals are wet electrode types that use Ag/AgCl gel electrodes. Here the Ag/AgCl gel-type electrode sticks on the human skin for an extended period until the ECG reading is wholly taken. The gel used is disposable, sticky, and does not feel comfortable for the user's long-term monitoring. This research has been made to develop ECG electrodes with textile materials. Here the 12-lead ECG was reduced to a 3-electrode system. Two different types of conductive textile materials were used to create electrodes. The nylon yarn coated with the Silver nanoparticle and two-ply yarn of nylon coated with Stainless Steel nanoparticle is taken for the development of conducting material. The conductive yarn is stitched into the cotton fabric using the lock stitch method. The readings were taken by placing the commercial and the textile electrodes parallel on the right arm, left arm, and right leg readings are recorded. The material's morphological structure and surface roughness are analyzed using SEM, and XRD is used to analyze the material's crystallinity. The yarn is tested for its anti-microbial property to investigate the material's biocompatibility. For silver yarn case, the voltage range is -0.4V to 1.2 V, whereas, for stainless steel, the voltage range is from -0.4V to 0.7V. That implies silver yarn is relatively more sensitive than stainless steel yarn for detecting ECG signals