Textile Electrode-structure Effects and Motion Artifact Minimization in Heart Activity Signal Acquisition

The purpose of this study is to compare the heart activity signal sensing performance by textile electrodes (based on size and configuration method) in order to obtain the structural requirements of motion artifact-minimizing textile electrodes suitable for heart activity signal acquisition. Computer embroidery was used to create six types of contact textile electrodes for measuring heart activity by manipulating the electrode size and method of configuration. These electrodes were attached to separate chest belts worn sequentially by eight males in good physical health. Heart activity signals were detected while the subjects stood in a static posture for 60 seconds and while they walked in place at a rate of 80 beats per minute for 60 seconds. The measurements were repeated four times. To collect the heart activity signals, a BIOPAC Systems, Inc. ECG100 electrocardiogram amplifier was used at a sampling rate of 1 ㎑, and the detected raw signals were fed through a bandpass filter. The signal power ratio of the heart activity signal detected by each type of electrode was calculated, and statistical analysis was applied to determine the heart activity signal-acquisition performance of the six electrode configurations. The results of this study indicate that, with regard to the textile electrodes’ configuration method, convex electrodes detected higher-quality signals than flat electrodes; however, no significant performance difference was found in detecting heart activity signals among the three electrode sizes. Among the structural requirements of textile electrodes for heart activity signal acquisition, the electrode configuration method was found to be an important factor that affects heart activity signal sensing in static and dynamic states. Plans for implementing a wearable platform integrating the convex textile electrodes based on this study will be investigated in future studies, along with performance improvements to develop smart clothing technology that can detect high-quality heart activity signals without time or space limitations.