A new method for manufacturing dry electrodes on textiles. Validation for wearable ECG monitoring

Abstract

This paper presents a new dry ECG electrode printed on a textile substrate. The proposed manufacturing process permits cost-effective mass production. The ECG dry electrode is obtained through screen printing a conductive silver ink coated with a biocompatible carbon layer. Three different designs combining two shapes (circular and square) and two sizes were developed. The resulting measured impedances are similar to those obtained via a conventional electrode. The prototypes were attached to a bracelet and used with a commercial electrocardiogram (ECG) device to register ECG signals. The dry electrodes were validated via ECG monitoring and compared with a conventional wet electrode. The clinical interest intervals reported similar results and the QRS morphology presented slight differences. Noise evaluation showed no notable differences for all the analyzed parameters.