스크린 프린팅 기술을 적용한 심전도 측정용 스마트 의류 프로토타입 개발

Abstract

Ambulatory and real-time electrocardiography (ECG) enable the modified monitoringof cardiovascular diseases and more precise patient condition diagnosis. Althoughthe Holter monitor is widely used to record cardiograms due to its wireless nature, an idealECG monitoring system must be lightweight, soft, and accessibility without discomfort. Therefore, smart electronic clothing including conductive electrodes and circuits is an idealplatform to monitor ECG for addressing the suggested requirements. Accordingly, in thisstudy, we have developed an ECG monitoring system on conventional textiles via screenprinting, which is ideal for readily fabricating the desired conductive patterns onto the fabric. An affordable silver paste was used to prepare an electronic surface on the fabric, andthis fabric was integrated into daily clothing for accessibility. We demonstrated that thescreen-printed Ag paste showed lower electrical resistance than conventional circuits. Furthermore,the printed circuits exhibited electrical stretchability when elongated completely. Additionally, the electrical properties of the circuits displayed little difference with500x stretching deformation, which restored completely after 24 h. The washing durabilityresults showed that the screen-printed circuits were reusable, implying affordable and sustainabletechnologies. Lastly, the ECG monitoring performance of the smart textile prototype(Ag paste printed fabric integrated daily clothing) was compared with that oftraditional wet-type Ag/AgCl electrodes. The result demonstrated that the smart textileprototype could record higher quality ECG signals than the conventional electrode. Consequently,this study opens the possibility of comfortable, affordable, and wearable physiologicsignal monitoring system.