The improvement of body signal measurement using adhesive intermediate electrode between skin and textile

Abstract

This study suggests solutions to improve the adhesive of textile electrodes and the body signal occasion such as surface electromyography (sEMG). For this, a textile electrode embedded in the forearm band was produced using a knitting technique with two designs. The effects of skintight conditions on the forearm band during sEMG measurement were evaluated according to the pattern reduction rate (PRR) of the forearm band, ranging from 0% to 30%. Finally, an adhesive intermediate electrode, conductive gel, between the skin and the textile electrode was introduced to improve the unstable skin contact. The sEMG measurements confirmed that the sEMG signal was detected stably without excessive skintight conditions, such as a more than 20% PRR by applying the adhesive intermediate electrode. Skin-electrode impedance evaluation results also showed a similar tendency. Therefore, the knitted electrode developed in this study uses an adhesive intermediate electrode to improve the electrode performance and provide comfortable wearing conditions. This electrode is a practical electrode substrate for bio signal monitoring that allows the detection of muscle activity in a comfortable wearing condition for a long time.