Textile electrodes in ECG measurement

Textile electrodes are a new, potential choice for biopotential measurements. In this research different kinds of textile electrodes were compared and good measurement positions were searched. In the first part the properties of four structurally different textile electrodes were compared. Three of the electrodes were industrially manufactured and one was hand-made by embroidering conductive yarn on fabric. Four test persons were used for testing the electrodes. The measurements were made three times with all the four electrode types so that in each measurement the skin was prepared in a different way. Three of the test persons performed a predefined set of motions for five minutes. The purpose of this test was to examine how well the textile electrodes stay put in different positions during movements. The best results were achieved with the embroidered electrodes, which have a large contact area with the skin. According to the measurement results, undisturbed electrode positions are difficult to find. Good positions for one person might not fit for another, because of the different shapes of bodies. In addition, different properties of skin and direction of the axis of the heart may affect the results.