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17 pages, 4312 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Electrical Characteristics and ECG Signal Acquisition Performance of Fabric Electrodes Based on Organizational Structure and Wearing Pressure

by Ming Wang, Jinli Zhou and Ge Zhang

Micromachines 2025, 16(7), 821; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi16070821 - 17 Jul 2025

Viewed by 317

Abstract

Obtaining stable ECG signals under both static and dynamic conditions, while ensuring comfortable wear, is a prerequisite for fabric-electrode applications. It is necessary to study the wearing pressure of fabric electrodes as well as their organizational structure. In this study, fabric electrodes with different organizational structures (plain weave, twill weave, and satin weave) were prepared using silver-plated nylon conductive yarns as weft yarns and polyester yarns as warp yarns. The electrical characteristics of these structures of fabric electrodes were analyzed under different wearing pressures (2 kPa, 3 kPa, 4 kPa, and 5 kPa), and their effects on the quality of static and dynamic ECG signals acquired from human body were examined. The results showed that the contact impedance of the twill and satin weave structured electrodes with the skin was smaller and more stable than that of the plain weave structured electrodes. Furthermore, when a wearing pressure of 3–4 kPa was applied to the satin-structured electrodes, they not only provided satisfactory comfort but also collected stable static and dynamic ECG signals during daily exercise. These results can provide a reference for the application of fabric electrodes in ECG monitoring devices and an important basis for the design of intelligent ECG clothing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Flexible and Wearable Electronics: Devices and Systems)

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16 pages, 5466 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigating the Impact of Washing Cycles on Silver-Plated Textile Electrodes: A Complete Study

by Valentin Gaubert, Hayriye Gidik, Nicolas Bodart and Vladan Koncar

Sensors 2020, 20(6), 1739; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20061739 - 20 Mar 2020

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 5176

Abstract

Although market prediction for smart textiles in the coming years is high, their washability will be among the main criteria for their mass adoption. Hence, the need to understand precisely how the washing process can damage them. Therefore, the best care instructions can be determined and serve as guidelines for smart textile manufacturers to control the quality of their smart garments as well as their customers to wash them cautiously. In this study, only the sensing part, silver-plated-nylon electrode sensors, is taken into account. To determine the chemical and the mechanical impacts of the machine-washing process separately and simultaneously, textile electrodes were put in different washing conditions: with and without bleaching agents, with and without mechanical constraints, etc. Then spectrophotometry, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) were used to characterize these electrodes. Results show that liquid detergents should be preferred to powder ones. Indeed, the latter contain bleaching agents that tend to oxidize the silver layer, making it more vulnerable to the mechanical rubbings that tear off the silver layer progressively washes after washes. As a consequence, the silver-plated-nylon loses rapidly its conductivity so that the electrode is no longer able to sense biopotentials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Intelligent Sensors)

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