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. 2015 Jan 15;15(1):1750-9.
doi: 10.3390/s150101750.

Embroidered electrode with silver/titanium coating for long-term ECG monitoring

Markus Weder  1 , Dirk Hegemann  2 , Martin Amberg  3 , Markus Hess  4 , Luciano F Boesel  5 , Roger Abächerli  6 , Veronika R Meyer  7 , René M Rossi  8
Affiliations

Embroidered electrode with silver/titanium coating for long-term ECG monitoring

Markus Weder et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

For the long-time monitoring of electrocardiograms, electrodes must be skin-friendly and non-irritating, but in addition they must deliver leads without artifacts even if the skin is dry and the body is moving. Today's adhesive conducting gel electrodes are not suitable for such applications. We have developed an embroidered textile electrode from polyethylene terephthalate yarn which is plasma-coated with silver for electrical conductivity and with an ultra-thin titanium layer on top for passivation. Two of these electrodes are embedded into a breast belt. They are moisturized with a very low amount of water vapor from an integrated reservoir. The combination of silver, titanium and water vapor results in an excellent electrode chemistry. With this belt the long-time monitoring of electrocardiography (ECG) is possible at rest as well as when the patient is moving.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Detail of the embroidered electrode made from Ag/Ti-coated PET yarn.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
(a) Sketch of the wetting device; (b) Prototype of the wetting pad (above) and the ECG belt with embroidered electrodes (below).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Positioning of the electrodes on the human thorax during our tests. (a) Moist textile electrodes placed horizontally within the belt (red #1 and #2); gel electrodes diagonally over the heart, i.e. the classical position for best signals (green #3 and #4); ground centered on the waist; (b) Gel electrodes placed as close to the belt as possible; (c) Signals obtained with arrangement (b); The test person was at rest with a pulse of 70.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Electrode signals. Red: embroidered moist electrodes made from Ag-coated yarn worn with a chest belt; Green: classical Ag/AgCl gel electrodes. The test person wore the electrodes as shown in Figure 3a and was in light motion with a mean pulse of 60. For details see also the legend of Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Example of “not suitable” signals (red curve) as obtained by embroidered Ag/Ti electrodes under dry conditions and in motion. The test person wore the electrodes as shown in Figure 3a and its mean pulse was 86.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Electrode signals. Red: 2 embroidered moist electrodes with Ag/Ti coating worn with the belt; Green: 2 classical Ag/AgCl gel electrodes placed diagonally over the heart (Ambu Blue Sensor by Synmedic AG, Zurich, Switzerland). For details see Figure 3. (a) At rest (pulse 63); (b) In motion (pulse 146).
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